The Pirate's Soldier
by operation meteor
Summary: Heero's career as a Preventers operative takes an unexpected turn when he gets caught up in a battle between a Juraian princess and a notorious space pirate. As the two alien beauties settle in with him on Earth and more quickly follow, the former Gundam pilot soon finds himself to be the target of their affections, with a certain lovely outlaw at the front of the pack!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** So, this story is something of a side-project for me, a fic I want to work on alongside my big Gundam Wing/Gundam Seed saga. If you're a fan of that saga, there's no need to fret; I'm still working on that, and this fic will not detract from that in the least. It's just a little change of pace for me, something more lighthearted if you will, though there will still be plenty of serious moments as well.

This story borrows elements from both the original Tenchi Muyo! Series and Tenchi Muyo! Tenchi Universe. If you're a fan of both then I'm sure you'll enjoy sorting them out. I'm also playing pretty fast and loose with other parts of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise, and some pretty major figures will be missing entirely, including Tenchi Masaki! There's your warning; if you're a hardcore fan of the franchise who can't stand any alterations whatsoever, this ain't the fic for you.

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy!

 **The Pirate's Soldier**

 **Chapter One: No Need For A Battle!**

 **September 2** **nd** **, A.C. 198**

As far as planetary systems go, Sol was really quite the backwater in the eyes of the rest of the galaxy. It had one inhabited planet with an abundance of life, including one confirmed sentient species, but said species was laughably primitive. It hadn't developed faster than light travel, it had only industrialized to the point of constructing orbital habitats and making a colonization effort at the fourth planet from the sun and it was blissfully unaware of the fact that it was far from alone in the universe. As such the system received minimal traffic, at most the occasional transport or personal shuttle passing through on the way to a civilized outpost in another part of this dead-end section of the galaxy.

In other words, it was as good a place as any for an outlaw to lay low for a while.

That _had_ been Ryoko's plan, but things hadn't exactly panned out that way. Standing at the center of Ryo-Ohki's bridge, her hands furiously working the controls, the beautiful space pirate was in the middle of a running firefight. The bangs of her long, wild turquoise hair were matted with sweat against her brow while her fierce amber eyes were narrowed in concentration. Wearing a white, orange, and black tunic that gave a tantalizing view of her ample bosom along with red leggings that clung tightly to her skin, she was a goddess of a woman who just so happened to be one of the most wanted criminals in the universe.

"Damn it, she's persistent!" she snarled as her ship shuddered under an impact, "Come on, Ryo-Ohki, let's kick her ass!"

" _Meow!_ " her sentient ship replied enthusiastically as it returned fire with a barrage of crimson energy.

Her ship was a very unusual vessel to say the least. Living starships weren't exactly unheard of in the wider galaxy; in fact they were quite common with the forces of the Empire of Jurai. However, even by those standards Ryo-Ohki was something of an oddball. Viewed from the outside the ship had a very crystalline appearance, comprised of a central spherical red core which was mounted in a light gray cradle of interlocking spires. Four black crystal spines came out of the ship in an X-array, bending upward and outward at a sharp angle. From the bottom of the ship protruded more black spines, with one large central crystal pointing straight down and for smaller ones forming another X-array around it.

The ship she was facing off against was a stark contrast to her sharp and angular design. One of the armed yachts used exclusively by members of Jurai nobility and the royal family, the _Ryu-Oh_ had a very elegant appearance. Its core section was a blue sphere with a red frame that attached it to the broader vessel. The ship's larger frame was composed of a special wooden material that gave the vessel a more organic appearance than Ryo-Ohki, with graceful curves and spires that belied her formidable arsenal of energy cannons, which were spitting a rain of blue fire at Ryoko as she continued her flight across the Sol System.

 _What the hell's her deal?_ , she thought, _All I did was rob one of the smaller branches of the Bank of Jurai. I mean jeeze, it's not like I knocked over the royal family's private treasury or anything! Couldn't she just let the Galaxy Police chase after me? If she hadn't been on that damn planet when I made my raid that's how things would've gone down and I'd already be in the clear!_

'She' was none other than the Empire of Jurai's first crown princess, Ayeka Masaki Jurai. This wasn't the first time she and Ryoko had tangled like this; over the centuries the two of them had clashed numerous times and had formed a fierce rivalry, although in Ryoko's opinion the spoiled royal wasn't as tough as the bounty hunter Nagi, regardless of how much firepower the princess could bring to a battle.

"Speak of the devil," Ryoko muttered as the main screen shifted, revealing her pursuer's face.

Purple really seemed to be a major theme with the crown princess; her hair, tied back into a set of twin tails that fell well past her waist, was that color, and her kimono was also varying shades of it. There was a familiar smug look in her red eyes, and the princess had an arrogant smirk on her face.

"Really, Ryoko, how long do you insist on this chase?" she said with a laugh, "Surrender peacefully and I just _might_ convince the magistrate to let you off with only a century of prison time!"

"Shove it up your ass, bitch!" Ryoko growled, "The _last_ person I'll ever surrender to is _you_!"

Ayeka grinned. "Oh, I was really hoping you'd say that. Taking you down the hard way will be so much more satisfying!"

"Bring it on, you spoiled brat!" Ryoko defiantly yelled before cutting the connection.

Crimson and azure fire flew between the two vessels as they passed by the largest gas giant in the system. When it came to firepower the two ships were about even, while Ryo-Ohki had an edge in agility. However, that was balanced out by the _Ryu-Oh_ 's tougher defenses; Royal Treeships were famous for their ability to take punishment and keep on fighting.

"Gun it, Ryo-Ohki!" she ordered, "We'll lose her in the system's asteroid belt!"

" _Meeooww!_ " her ship replied.

The ship picked up speed, still pouring crimson beams back at the _Ryo-Oh_ but more focused on getting into the Sol System's asteroid belt to find shelter and rest up a bit. This running battle had been going on for a while now and Ryoko knew that Ryo-Ohki needed a break.

"Hang in there, girl," she said, gently stroking one of the control surfaces like she was petting a cat, "You can do this! Once we lose her we'll drop in on that third planet and I'll get you all the food you can eat!"

A joyful " _Meow!_ " rang out, and the ship went even faster as it rushed towards the asteroid belt. Ryoko smiled, quite pleased at her knowledge of her own ship and partner in crime; nothing motivated Ryo-Ohki quite like the promise of a big meal.

 _I know you, Ayeka_ , she thought, _Once I drop out of sight eventually you'll get bored and fly back to your palace. Enjoy the chase while you can, bitch, because we're about to play hide-and-seek, and that's a game I know I'll win!_

….

Attached to the top of the massive transport jet, which was straining its engines to fly as high as it could possibly go in Earth's atmosphere, was a blue and white mobile suit. A broad shield with a whip-like Heat Rod inside was mounted on the left shoulder, while on the right was a Mega Beam Cannon. When not in use the gun would rotate back and the mobile suit would then wield a violet beam saber. Two small Vulcan guns were imbedded in its head. On its back was a set of extremely powerful thrusters capable of reaching speeds that were capable of killing an insufficiently skilled pilot. Mounted over those engines was a large pack that held a pair of special booster rockets designed to help the mobile suit escape the Earth's gravity before detaching and burning up in the atmosphere. The machine, called the Tallgeese III, was one of the few mobile suits remaining in the Earth Sphere since the end of the Mariemaia Rebellion over a year and a half ago.

In the cockpit of the mobile suit was an 18 year-old man in a black flight suit and helmet. Beneath the helmet's visor his Prussian blue eyes were narrowed in concentration. He was very calm, with not a single bead of sweat on his forehead or in his thick brown hair despite the tense situation. His flight suit did not hide his athletic figure, toned by intense training and a life of combat. He'd grown a few inches in height over the year and a half since the Mariemaia Rebellion, but apart from that Heero Yuy had not changed much physically since then. As he prepared for the imminent launch the Preventers operative listened carefully as his immediate superior got him up to speed on what had instigated this mission.

"The two contacts just passed by Mars about ten minutes ago," said Sally Po, "They're moving incredibly fast, and all the available data indicates they'll be hitting Earth-orbit within the next few minutes."

Heero shook his head. "That's not possible. No ship can move that fast."

The Preventers agent, codenamed Water, sighed. Like Heero, the lovely veteran soldier hadn't changed much over the past year and a half. Her blonde-brown hair still fell on either side of her face in long, flowing curls. She had warm dark blue eyes, and while they were quite serious right now under casual circumstances they would be warm and gentle.

"No ship that you or I know of can move that fast," said Sally, "but these aren't ships that you or I would recognize, Heero."

"You mentioned possible weapons fire earlier," said Heero, "Do we have a confirmation on that?"

Sally nodded. "We've got some new images from our observation probes. Check this out."

Heero's eyes narrowed as Sally sent him the pictures. There were clear images of the two contacts, both unlike any vessel the Gundam Pilot had ever seen before. Streams of blue and red energy crisscrossed the space between the two ships; they were engaged in open battle.

"I don't suppose we've got any official protocols for a situation like this, huh?" said Heero dryly.

Sally shook her head. "While both Preventers and the diplomatic services have come up with numerous contingencies and action plans in the event of extraterrestrial contact, none of them have involved two different parties arriving in our solar system while engaging each other in a running fight. At the rate they're moving their battle will soon be taking place in Earth orbit, and I don't need to tell you the kind of threat that sort of action would pose to the colonies."

Heero nodded. "I'll keep them safe, Sally."

Sally smiled. "I know you will, Heero. See if you can establish contact with the unknowns first. If you can't, do what you must to defend Earth and the colonies. We hardly want to start a war with someone that's able to travel between star systems, but we'll do what we must to protect our homes. You have full operational authority, Heero; act as you see fit."

"Roger that," Heero.

"Good luck, Zero," said Sally, referring to him by his Preventer codename, "Water, out."

As soon as Sally disappeared from the screen another voice came over the cockpit speakers, this time from the plane that was carrying him.

"We'll reach the launch point in thirty seconds," said Maria Harley, the Preventers pilot, "Stand by, Zero."

"Understood," said Heero, steeling himself for the launch.

A timer appeared at the bottom right corner of the main monitor, rapidly counting down to the launch time. Heero used the time available to run through one final quick check of the systems. Weapons, engines, sensors… everything seemed to check out.

 _So_ , thought Heero, _I get to make first contact with an alien race, or possibly two… that's one for the history books, but it doesn't look like it'll be a friendly encounter. Tallgeese III is powerful, but for all I know I could be drastically outgunned. I'll just have to stay on my guard._

When the timer hit zero the plane's pilot contacted him again. "Green for launch!"

Heero nodded. "Zero, launching."

He hit a switch and the Tallgeese III detached from the plane. Heero gave the jet a moment to get clear before hitting another switch and igniting the booster rockets. The Gundam Pilot had braced himself but he was still thrown back in his seat by the incredible power of the boosters as the mobile suit rapidly ascended. His mobile suit shuddered around him but his monitors indicated that it was holding together.

 _Here we go_ , he thought as the blue sky above him began to darken as he got closer and closer to leaving the atmosphere all together, _Soon I'll be back on the battlefield._

….

"Shit," Ryoko growled as Ryo-Ohki took another hit, "That bitch doesn't know when to quit!"

Taking cover in the asteroid belt had worked for a little while, but the _Ryu-Oh_ had simply begun firing on every asteroid around it. A lucky salvo had taken out the one that Ryo-Ohki had been hiding behind, and Ryoko had once again taken flight. The running battle had continued through the asteroid belt for a while before Ryoko decided to take her chances with a breakout towards the third planet of the star system. If she could get there, she reasoned, she could go to ground and blend in with the local population long enough for Ayeka to lose patience and fly back to planet Jurai or some other part of the Empire.

Of course, first she had to make it down to the surface of the planet, and Jurai's crown princess would not make that easy on her. Ryo-Ohki and the _Ryu-Oh_ had continued trading fire throughout their flight to Earth, and neither ship showed any sign of stopping yet. Ryoko would have to count on Ryo-Ohki's greater agility to escape, but so far she was having a hard time using that to her advantage.

"Meow!" cried her ship with concern.

"What's up, Ryo-Ohki?" asked Ryoko.

Ryo-Ohki wasn't hurt; she had a different cry for that. Looking up Ryoko saw several images flash across the screen, all of the wheel-shaped orbital habitats that were scattered around the planet.

"Oh, I get it," she said, "You're worried about us hitting one of them, right?"

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki replied.

Ryoko smiled. "Don't worry about it. There's plenty of room between them and the planet. Besides, the planet's where I want to go anyway, not those giant wheels."

The ship shuddered again under another salvo, causing Ryoko to hiss. " _Damn it!_ Thrash her, Ryo-Ohki!"

Her ship readily replied by sending a fresh hail of crimson beams towards her foe. Ryoko frantically tried to evade Ayeka's fire and find an opening to enter the Earth's atmosphere, but the crown princess refused to let up. The Juraian royal was relentless in her pursuit, and it was really getting on Ryoko's nerves.

"If you think I'll allow you to befoul an innocent world with your nefarious presence you are gravely mistaken!" shouted Ayeka, "I'll destroy you here and let your remains burn to cinders in the atmosphere!"

"Get off your high horse, you stuck up bitch!" yelled Ryoko.

She could talk tough, but privately Ryoko was getting worried. The _Ryu-Oh_ looked no weaker now than when their battle had begun. Ryo-Ohki could still go at it for a while, but Ryoko knew that she really had to end this battle soon.

Crimson and azure fire continued to crisscross the space between the two combatants. As Ryo-Ohki shook from another hit Ryoko's eyes widened as a torrent of yellow energy suddenly ripped through the space between her and Ayeka.

"What the hell?" she cried.

Both Ryo-Ohki and the _Ryu-Oh_ stopped firing. Ryoko focused on the screen as it shifted away from her immediate opponent and towards the source of the huge blast that had just passed between her and Ayeka.

 _What is that?_ , she thought.

It was a white and blue machine, shaped like a man but several times larger. A large cannon was mounted on its right shoulder, yellow energy still crackling around the barrel. She saw the opening of the gun begin to narrow down into a more compact configuration, but it was still raised and ready to fire. A large shield was mounted on the unit's left shoulder.

Suddenly a voice came over the speakers, calm and unmistakably male. "I don't know if any of you can understand me, but if you can I advise that you cease your battle at once."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "Just who the hell does this local think he is?"

"Meow!" said Ryo-Ohki

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "What? What do you mean don't pick a fight with him? We can take him!"

" _Meow!_ " cried Ryo-Ohki.

Ryoko looked out at the screen again, a devious smile coming to her face. "Oh, yeah! We can use him to help take out Ayeka!"

She made some quick adjustments on her console and directed her communications straight at the stranger.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" she said in her best damsel-in-distress impersonation, "Please, you have to help me! Save me from this witch!"

Sure enough the stranger replied, and this time Ryoko wanted to make sure she got a visual. A young man in a black flight suit and helmet appeared, but even through the visor she was struck by his piercing blue eyes and brown bangs.

 _Well now_ , she thought, _He's actually kind of cute…_

"You can understand me?" the stranger asked.

Ryoko nodded and smiled, putting her hands together in a pleading gesture so the pilot could see them. "Yes, I can! Please, you have to save me! I've been chased halfway across the galaxy by this tyrant! She's a vicious monster!"

Before she could take her ploy further she was interrupted by Ayeka. "What a pack of filthy lies! Whoever you are, sir, I'll have you know that I am an imperial princess chasing a wanted criminal!"

"Criminal?" said the stranger, "What is she charged with?"

 _Damn it, Ayeka_ , thought Ryoko, _I'm not going to let you beat me that easily!_

"Don't listen to her!" she cried, "All I did was speak out against her family's corruption! I wanted to expose the truth of how they rule us with an iron fist and how they oppress us and treat us like slaves! Her father's an evil dictator, and she's as brutal and ruthless as he is! The people starve and suffer in poverty while her family cares for nothing but their wealth and power!"

"How dare you sully the good name of the Jurai Royal Family!" Ayeka shouted, "I'll have you know that we have been nothing but benevolent to the citizens of the Empire! We have shown grace and charity throughout our borders! You are nothing more than a pirate and a thief who preys upon the helpless!"

"She's lying!" said Ryoko, shedding a tear for dramatic effect, "I was part of a group dedicated to overthrowing that pack of tyrants, but we were discovered. They crushed us without mercy and slaughtered almost everyone! I barely escaped with my life! Please, you have to give me asylum here!"

"Enough!" the stranger cut in, and Ryoko was surprised by just how strong his voice sounded, "I want both of you to hold your positions here and hold your fire! We'll sort this all out soon!"

"Sir, please!" cried Ryoko, "You have to let me come down to your planet! This witch will kill me if you make me stay up here with her!"

"No one is killing anyone here today!" the stranger replied.

Ryoko fought hard to suppress a smile; there was no way that Ayeka wouldn't react to someone ordering her around that wasn't another royal.

 _Come on, princess_ , she thought, _Take the bait!_

Sure enough, Ayeka took it hook, line, and sinker.

"You dare presume to command the crown princess of the House of Jurai?" she shouted, "I will not tolerate such impertinence! Stand aside while I bring this outlaw to justice or you will make yourself an enemy of the Empire!"

"Ryo-Ohki," Ryoko whispered, "Start taking us down towards the planet. Put all your spare power to our shields. Don't fire until I tell you to."

"Meow," her ship replied.

Turning back to the pilot on the screen, Ryoko feigned fright. "I'm so sorry, sir, but if I stay up here I know she'll execute me! I have to get down to the surface!"

"Don't move!" yelled the stranger.

"Ryoko, you coward!" Ayeka screeched, "I shall finish this here and now!"

The _Ryu-Oh_ began moving forward and started firing again. This time the blue energy beams weren't solely focused on Ryo-Ohki; Ayeka was now firing on the white and blue machine as well. Ryoko was surprised to see the stranger move with incredible speed to evade the azure rain of death; whoever he was, he had skills.

"This is your last chance," said the stranger, "Stop this now or I will engage!"

"I will not obey the commands of a commoner, and certainly not one that would come to the aid of a galactic criminal!" Ayeka yelled, "In the name of the Empire of Jurai I will dispense justice today!"

Ryo-Ohki shuddered under the barrage, but Ryoko wouldn't return fire just yet. If she could get the stranger to defend her, _then_ she would counter. His machine looked primitive, but the blast it had fired earlier was no joke; she could use that kind of artillery on her side right now.

She then saw the white and blue machine open fire with its rifle. Rather than a large blast like the one she'd seen earlier, though, the machine cut loose with a series of smaller shots. The beams were precise and all found their marks, but Ryoko knew it would take much more than that to take down the _Ryu-Oh_.

"Damn it, he's holding back!" Ryoko growled as her ship shook from another hit, "Okay, Ryo-Ohki, let her have it!"

"Meow!" cried her ship, and she opened up with a crimson barrage.

Once again red and blue beams crisscrossed the sky, this time with several yellow ones thrown into the mix as the stranger continued to attack Ayeka. It was frustrating to Ryoko that the stranger was still not cutting loose with another big blast like the one from before. What would it take to get this guy to bring out the heavy artillery?

As the fighting continued Ryo-Ohki continued to slowly fall back towards the planet. They hadn't hit the atmosphere yet, but the further they went the stronger the planet's gravitational pull became. Ryoko knew that both her ship and the _Ryu-Oh_ would have little trouble with atmospheric reentry, but she didn't know if the white and blue machine would fare as well or if it would be forced to withdraw.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw the stranger pull back. For a moment she thought he was fleeing, but then she smiled as she saw the barrel of his main gun widen.

"About damn time!" she said, "Let's give him some cover, Ryo-Ohki!"

" _Meow!_ " yelled her ship with enthusiasm.

Yellow and gold energy crackled around the barrel of the white and blue machine's gun while Ryoko continued to hammer Ayeka. A few seconds later the stranger opened fire in another blinding blast. Ryoko had to shield her eyes. For such a small machine it sure did pack a punch.

 _Did that get her?_ , she thought.

As the blast faded Ryoko was stunned to see that the _Ryu-Oh_ was still intact. However, its bow section had been blown wide open. The edges of the great gash were charred black, while pieces of debris floated all around. Ryoko smiled; even Ayeka would have to back down after an attack like that.

"Pack it in, Ayeka!" she yelled triumphantly, "I've won this time!"

Ayeka's face appeared on the screen, and Ryoko was startled to realize that her taunt may have backfired. The princess looked furious, and apparently the last thing on her mind was backing down.

"Not a chance in hell, Ryoko!" she shouted, " _Ryu-Oh_ may be damaged but it's still more than capable of bringing you down!"

" _Meeoow!_ " cried Ryo-Ohki in alarm, and Ryoko's eyes widened as she saw Ayeka's ship increase its speed, charging right at her and continuing to fire despite its wound.

"You maniac!" yelled Ryoko as she returned fire, "What the hell are you doing?"

Ayeka laughed even as her ship continued to trade fire with Ryoko and the stranger. "What does it look like, Ryoko? Even damaged the _Ryu-Oh_ is tougher than you or the meddler you've ensnared in your scheme! I'm going to drive you through the atmosphere and into the ground!"

"You're insane!" cried Ryoko.

"Hardly," Ayeka replied with a smirk that bordered on psychotic, "With the protection of _Ryu-Oh_ I'll have no difficulty surviving this maneuver, and eventually my ship will recover to the point that I can leave this planet behind. _You_ will not be so lucky, Ryoko! Hahahaha!"

"Damn it!" growled Ryoko, "Move it, Ryo-Ohki!"

Her ship cried in protest, and Ryoko realized that her earlier move to descend to the planet was now costing her; Ryo-Ohki was struggling against the planet's gravity well while still trading fire with the _Ryu-Oh_. Ayeka's ship was coming in hard and fast, its progress aided by the planet's gravity as she plunged forward.

Ryoko was so caught up in her own dilemma that she didn't even notice the stranger that had fired on the _Ryu-Oh_ earlier take a hit.

….

The Tallgeese III shuddered as an azure beam hit its back. Checking his monitor, Heero's eyes narrowed as he saw the damage.

 _Damn it_ , he thought, _She took out one of my engines!_

He still had some level of control, but it wasn't enough to keep fighting like this. Caught in the Earth's gravitational pull, Heero knew that he would be pulled down to the planet, and while Tallgeese III was a good mobile suit it was no Gundam; its hull was only titanium. A descent like this would kill him unless he acted quickly.

As he fell he saw the strange vessel that had shot him continue to charge the equally strange vessel Heero had tried to stop it from fighting against. Both ships continued to trade fire right up until the torn and blackened bow of the charging ship rammed into the other one.

Amazingly, both ships held together. Cracks appeared in the hulls of both vessels but only around the impact points. By and large the ships remained intact as they continued their plunge toward Earth, their hulls beginning to glow red as they fell deeper into the atmosphere.

It was in that moment that Heero got what was probably one of the craziest ideas of his life.

 _It's a long shot_ , he thought, his eyes firm in concentration, _but it's the only move I've got that gives me a chance in hell at survival._

He pushed his remaining engine as hard as it could go, rushing towards the black crystal-like vessel. His mobile suit shook violently as he fought for control, but Heero was able to stay on course and bring the Tallgeese III down onto the core section of the ship. Heero was thrown back in his seat by the impact, but his mobile suit held together.

The plan was simple; he would use the strange ship as a shield and ride it down through the atmosphere. Once they'd made it to a lower altitude Heero would leave the ship and bring the Tallgeese III down to the ground in a controlled crash. It was straightforward enough in theory, but keeping his damaged mobile suit on the black ship while the other vessel was pushing it down towards the surface and then getting the Tallgeese III off of the ship at just the right time after surviving reentry would not be easy.

The strange ship he had landed on began to glow orange and red from the heat as it fell deeper into the atmosphere. Its trembling began to increase dramatically, and Heero had to fight tooth and nail to keep the Tallgeese III atop its makeshift shield. The second vessel that had rammed the first towered nearby above him, likewise glowing from the heat but still intact and refusing to yield from its violent embrace with the crystalline ship.

Checking his sensors, Heero quickly tried to plot their trajectory. So far he appeared to be on track for a landing in Western Europe, but he needed to narrow it down further. If there was a major population center at the end of their path then he would have to find a way to protect it from the descending ships.

A few seconds later he breathed a sigh of relief. The computer told him that they would touch down in or around Lake Genval to the southeast of Brussels. It was a popular vacation area in the spring and summer but with fall rolling in the tourist traffic was down and there would be less chance of civilian casualties. Of course the lake was relatively small, and hitting it in an orbital drop would be the equivalent of hitting a _very_ small bull's-eye from a _very_ long distance. There were residences and towns in the surrounding region as well, so there was still the possibility of loss of innocent life. Still, it was definitely better than landing in a major urban area, let alone the capital of the ESUN.

He got on the radio and contacted his mission commander. "Sally, do you read me? Sally, respond!"

She appeared on his screen and nodded. "I can hear you, Heero. What the hell's going on up there?"

"You need to evacuate the Lake Genval area immediately!" said Heero, "We're coming in hot!"

"What are you talking about, Heero?" asked Sally.

"One of the ships rammed the other," said Heero, "I got hit in the crossfire. I'm riding one of them down as a heat shield. Our trajectory's the Lake Genval area. Clear it out!"

Sally nodded. "I'll do everything I can, but if you're doing atmospheric reentry it sounds like we don't have much time."

"I know," Heero replied, "I've got a backup plan if it looks like we're going to hit civilians, but I don't know if I can pull it off with the damage I've taken."

"Then let's hope your luck holds," said Sally, "We'll clear out the people the best we can and be ready for when you hit dirt-side. Sally, out."

As she disappeared from the screen another face took her place; that of the pilot of the spacecraft he had landed on. Atmospheric reentry after being shot at was hardly an appropriate time to be admiring female beauty, but Heero had to admit the turquoise-haired woman was striking. The screen didn't give him a good view of her body, but there was a fierce light in her amber eyes, and her hair was wild and free. If nothing else, Heero could tell that this was a woman who did not fear danger or adventure and did not consider herself bound by traditional society. She was a clear contrast from the purple-haired woman on the other ship that had claimed to be some sort of imperial princess. For an alien she was surprisingly human-looking, with the only real giveaway feature being her longer than average ears.

"Hey," said the woman, "What's the big idea with you landing on my ship?"

 _Not acting like a damsel-in-distress now_ , Heero mused, _but that still doesn't tell me much._

"Blame the other ship," he said calmly, "They hit one of my engines. Riding you down through the atmosphere is my only chance for survival."

The woman sighed, and Heero was surprised to see her give him a wry smile. "Well, I guess I can't blame you for that. I gotta say, you're a real hotshot pilot, you know that?"

"So I've heard," Heero replied, "What's your name?"

Her smile grew a little. "Ryoko. Yours?"

"Heero Yuy," he replied, "Preventers agent codename Zero."

Ryoko nodded. "Not sure what to make of that last part, but if we survive this I take it you'll fill me in?"

"Perhaps," said Heero, "Let's just focus on the survival part for now."

Ryoko smirked. "Can't argue with that."

Heero nodded as the Tallgeese III and the ship it was on continued to shake as they descended towards the planet. "Welcome to Earth, Ryoko."

….

"Thank you," said Sally, trying to keep the exasperation from her voice, "I'll let you get to it."

Ending the call, she sighed in frustration. She was high up in the hierarchy of Preventers and was often considered to be Director Lady Une's unofficial second in command. Her authority was real, but it had limits, and one of the hard parts of her job was exerting that over local officials.

 _What is it with people?_ , she thought wearily, _A member of the government's principle peacekeeping organization tells them to evacuate an area because objects are falling from orbit and they spend half the call questioning it and complaining about us being 'heavy-handed'? We're trying to save lives! Talk about a lack of appreciation…_

Fortunately Lady Une had been the first person that Sally had informed of the rapidly developing situation and its dangers. The Preventers Director had given Sally her full, unconditional support and had been making calls alongside her. Wheels were in motion and people were being moved, but this was a _very_ tight race against the clock.

Checking the monitor that was receiving data from Heero, Sally saw that he had just sent another update on the likely landing zone. The probability was now up to 53% that they would land in Lake Genval, and it looked like they would be closer to the western edge than the east.

 _That's about as good as we can hope for under the circumstances_ , she thought, _I just hope Tallgeese III holds together. Hang in there, Heero!_

….

Holding on to Ryo-Ohki's controls to keep herself upright, Ryoko frantically tried to break her ship free from _Ryu-Oh_. They'd passed through the upper atmosphere a while ago, and Ryoko could see one final layer of clouds coming up.

"Damn it!" she growled, "Come on, Ryo-Ohki! Let's shake her off!"

"Meow!" cried her ship in protest.

"Huh?" said Ryoko, "What do you mean we should stay like this?"

On the screen her ship showed her their current trajectory. If they kept going like this they would crash in the western part of a lake rather than on solid ground. It would be a softer impact and would have less of a chance of hurting people down below.

Ryoko sighed. "All right, fine. We'll do this your way, Ryo-Ohki."

Passing through the final cloud layer, Ryoko could make out the blurred features of the ground below. Squinting, she could barely see the lake Ryo-Ohki had shown her; it was much smaller than she had first thought.

"Hey," she said, "Are you sure we're going to hit that?"

"Meow!" her ship replied confidently.

Ryoko nodded. "Okay, I'll take your word for it. Looks like we're going for a swim!"

Continuing to watch the screen, she saw the surface rapidly approaching, with more details becoming visible the closer they got. She could make out some woodland areas, along with parks and some residential and commercial buildings along the side of the lake. Ryoko was glad they weren't landing in a major city, but it was still an area with people around, which meant it would be a real pain after the crash if they came to investigate.

She heard a loud noise coming from the top of her ship, and she saw Heero's machine take off. It was flying under the power of only one engine and it looked pretty shaky. Ryoko saw that the pilot she'd spoke to earlier appeared to be aiming for the lake; it seemed he wasn't confident about his ability to land his machine on solid ground after the damage that it had taken. At the rate they were going it looked like they would both hit the lake around the same time.

"Okay, Ryo-Ohki!" she yelled as they rapidly neared the surface, "Brace yourself!"

The ground and the water became more detailed by the second. Soon she could make out the details of individual buildings and trees. Then she could see only the lake itself.

And then there was a violent impact as the falling ships slammed into the lake.

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Heero: Well, as I'm sure you've guessed, we all survived the crash, and the three of us washed up on the shores of Lake Genval._

 _Azaka: Pardon me, sir Heero, but don't you mean the five of us?_

 _Kamidake: You can't discount us, sir Heero!_

 _Ryoko: Hey, the audience isn't supposed to know about you two yet, so pipe down!_

 _Ayeka: Don't talk to my guardians that way, Ryoko!_

 _Heero: Moving on, Ryoko and Ayeka try to pick their fight up where they left off, but fortunately they're too worn out from the crash. That gives Sally and I the opportunity to take them into Preventers custody._

 _Ayeka: Now just a minute! You're making it sound like I'm a criminal!_

 _Sally: No, but you and Ryoko are the first aliens we've had contact with. Precautions need to be taken._

 _Ryoko: Well, as long as Heero's along for the ride, I'm good with that!_

 _Sally: Anyway, it's clear Ayeka and Ryoko don't mean any harm to Earth, so we're not going to hold them indefinitely. However, of course we want to keep them under observation as well. The solution I work out with Lady Une should suffice for this unique situation._

 _Ryoko: Next time, in Chapter Two: No Need For Roommates!_

 _Heero: Something tells me I'm not going to like this…_

 **Author's Notes:** Well, the story is underway! If you're a fan of the Tenchi Universe portion of the franchise then you could probably tell that the little preview segment was modeled on the one from the show.

Hope you liked the first chapter! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Since I haven't done it already, here's the belated disclaimer; I don't own Gundam Wing or the Tenchi Muyo franchise. There, legal obligations met.

Enjoy!

 **Chapter Two: No Need For Roommates!**

His body was sore all over, but Heero took the fact that he could feel pain to be a good sign; it meant he was still very much alive.

 _Looks like the Reaper wasn't ready for me quite yet_ , he thought, _Sally was right; I really do have the devil's luck._

Another good sign was that Tallgeese III still had power, though the displays he could see indicated that it had taken severe damage. The unit had landed back-first towards the western shore of Lake Genval, and according to the monitors Heero could see that the chest was actually up above the surface of the water. That was a big relief to him; coming down here meant that it would be easier for Preventers to recover the mobile suit later. Heero was impressed that the mobile suit still had power, though with the way it had landed he knew that the remaining thruster was definitely trashed.

He groaned as he sat up in his chair, but as he checked himself over Heero realized that he was in remarkably good condition. Nothing appeared to be broken, and while he was bruised and battered he didn't think he had any internal injuries. His chest hurt and his breathing was a little pained, but from what he could tell it didn't feel like he had broken any ribs. There was a throbbing pain in his head but his helmet had prevented it from being much worse.

With the way the Tallgeese III was laying the unit's cameras were pointed straight at the sky, and Heero couldn't move the mobile suit to get a good look at the two crashed ships. His scanners were detecting two large nearby objects that he assumed to be them, but it was hard to make out their condition.

He got on the radio. "Ryoko, are you there? Ryoko, it's Heero. Can you hear me?"

There was no answer.

He was rather reluctant to try contacting the other party since they had shot out one of his engines, but he didn't have a choice in the matter. "Princess, do you read me? Respond."

There was no answer from her either. Either their ships' communications systems were down, or they were out cold… or worse.

 _Only one way to find out_ , he thought, _Time to pop the hatch._

….

Coughing up water, Ryoko flopped back on the shore of the lake. She was soaked and she felt like hell, but she was alive, and that was something.

 _Damn_ , she thought, grimacing as she lay there for a moment, trying to recover some strength, _We landed pretty hard, even with the water. Guess we didn't hit a deep part of the lake._

Wincing in pain as she sat up, she looked out at the lake and quickly found Ryo-Ohki. The upper body of her ship was well above the surface of the water. From the darker shade the ship was and the cracks in it Ryoko knew that Ryo-Ohki had taken a beating. Soon she would go into a period of hibernation to heal and recover her energy, leaving Ryoko stranded on this planet at least for a little while.

 _Rest up, girl_ , she thought, _I think we've both earned a break._

She could also see the upper hull of the _Ryu-Oh_ above the surface of the lake as well. It looked just as beat up as Ryo-Ohki was, and while Ryoko wasn't an expert on Jurai ships she knew that they could undergo a recovery process like Ryo-Ohki, although theirs took much longer. Closer to shore she could see the battered white and blue machine that had intercepted the two of them in orbit. Ryoko hoped the pilot was okay; if nothing else Heero seemed like an interesting guy, and it'd be a shame if something happened to him here.

 _I'm stuck on his planet now_ , she mused, _He can at least do me a favor by surviving so he can show me around._

"Oh…" a familiar voice groaned.

Ryoko looked over to her left and scowled as she saw Ayeka on the beach too. Apparently the princess had managed to swim to shore, and she wasn't alone. Two large cylinders were washed up on the shore with her. They were each taller than a human by at least a few feet, appeared to be made of some kind of wood, and had unique Juraian script on the front of their bodies below a single ocular sensor. The one on the left had blue script and the other red.

 _Great_ , she thought wryly, _Azaka and Kamidake, her guardians… this just keeps getting better and better. Which one's which again?_

The one with the blue script lifted itself up and turned to Ayeka. "Princess Ayeka, are you all right?"

"Azaka…" said Ayeka as she rubbed her head and tried to sit up.

"Please, Princess, lie back down and rest for a while!" chimed the red one as it too sprung up from the ground.

Ayeka shook her head. "Not yet, Kamidake…"

 _Well_ , mused Ryoko, _I guess that answers that question._

Then Ayeka's gaze found Ryoko, and the space pirate saw the princess's eyes narrow in fury. " _You_ … this is all your fault!"

Ryoko glared at her as the two women struggled to their feet. " _My_ fault? You're the one that rammed me!"

"A necessary measure to defeat a fugitive such as you!" Ayeka shot back, "Had you not been a coward and used that local as a tool in your attempted escape we could've settled this in orbit!"

"Oh yeah?" Ryoko growled, "Well if you had just let the Galaxy Police chase me rather than run after me yourself then none of us would be in this mess!"

"Because you would've escaped them all too easily!" Ayeka shouted, "I could not abide that after you had robbed the Bank of Jurai!"

"It was just a local branch!" said Ryoko, "I didn't even get that much out of it!"

"And you think that lessens your crime?" asked Ayeka with incredulity, "You truly are nothing more than a thug, Ryoko! Azaka, Kamidake! We're taking her down now!"

"Princess Ayeka, you must reconsider!" said Azaka, "You can hardly stand right now!"

"You cannot fight right now!" cried Kamidake.

"Be silent, both of you!" Ayeka snapped, several small cylinders appearing around her and the air around her crackling with energy, "If the two of you insist on questioning me then I will fight her myself!"

"Bring it on, Ayeka!" growled Ryoko, bringing her hands together and gathering crimson energy between them.

Privately she knew now was hardly the time to fight Ayeka. Ryoko had taken a beating in the crash; she didn't have a lot of energy to spare right now. Still, she couldn't just back down.

The two women glared at each other, ready to throw down at any second…

…and then a gunshot rang out and a bullet struck the ground between them.

"That's enough!" shouted a familiar male voice.

Both Ryoko and Ayeka turned to see a figure in a black flight suit and helmet coming out of the lake. It was moving slowly, and Ryoko realized that it must have taken a beating in the crash just like her and Ayeka.

The figure removed their helmet, and Ryoko's eyes widened in surprise. She'd gotten a small look at Heero's facial features through his helmet visor before, but now that she could see him in his entirety she was struck by his appearance. He was breathing hard but his face was set and firm, his expression one of determination. There was a fierce, piercing edge in his blue eyes unlike anything Ryoko had ever seen before. His thick brown hair was rather unruly thanks to him taking off his helmet, but in Ryoko's mind that did not detract from his appearance in the least.

 _Damn_ , she thought, _he's not just cute; he's downright handsome!_

Ryoko saw Ayeka staring at Heero as well, and some of her fury seemed to have faded. If anything the princess looked almost as stunned as Ryoko was by the young man that had interrupted their impending clash.

"Haven't you two," said Heero, his left hand clutching his chest while his right held a pistol in a surprisingly steady grip given his condition, "had enough of this for one day?"

"Heero," said Ryoko carefully, "I don't think you should get involved in this fight."

Ayeka nodded, and her voice was a little calmer as she spoke. "Please, sir… with due respect, this matter does not concern you."

"With due respect," Heero deadpanned, "I disagree. You two came out of nowhere flying ships unlike anything we've ever seen before here, started shooting it out in orbit of our planet and threatening our colonies, shot out one of my engines and forced me to ride your ships down and crash land in the middle of a lake. I'd say this matter very much concerns me."

"Look, Heero," said Ryoko, "I'm sorry about dragging you into that, but you should back off here. This fight's between me and Ayeka."

"Agreed," said Ayeka, "I apologize, sir, but I will not… yield…"

The princess then stumbled forward and collapsed.

"Princess Ayeka!" cried her two guardians.

Ryoko smirked and was about to claim victory before she felt her legs give out beneath her.

"Damn it," she groaned, "Guess that crash took more out of me than I thought…"

The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was Heero lowering his gun and coming towards her.

….

"Hey, Ryoko!" said Heero as he knelt down by the turquoise-haired woman, "Can you hear me? Answer me!"

Cradling the woman's head in his right arm he brought her face up to his. Her breathing was faint but steady; it looked like she had simply passed out.

He turned to the nearby cylinder-things that were hovering over the purple haired woman. "Hey! Is she okay?"

The blue cylinder turned to him and moved its whole body slightly downward in what Heero assumed to be its approximation of a nod. "Quite so, sir. Her Highness simply exerted herself too much and fainted."

"We told her she needed to rest!" said the red one.

Heero nodded. "I see. Are you two planning to pick up where she left off?"

The blue one shook side by side. "Our only concern is the protection of Princess Ayeka."

"We will not attack you or Ryoko unless you attack us," said the red one.

"I see," said Heero as he gently laid Ryoko back down, "My name's Heero Yuy. I'm with a security organization called Preventers. Who are you?"

The blue machine gave another one of its full-body bows. "I am Azaka, a guardian entity of Jurai's Crown Princess Ayeka."

"And I am Kamidake," said the red one, "also a guardian entity of Princess Ayeka. It's nice to meet you."

"I apologize for what happened in orbit earlier," said Azaka, "I'm afraid Princess Ayeka losses some of her rationality whenever she gets in a fight with Ryoko."

"She's normally not like this," said Kamidake, "Please forgive her."

Heero sighed as he sat down next to Ryoko. "I'm alive and reasonably intact, so I won't hold a grudge. What she said earlier about Ryoko being a criminal… is that true?"

"Quite so," said Azaka, "She is a rather infamous pirate."

"Her reputation spans the galaxy," said Kamidake, "She's an exceptionally powerful pirate!"

Heero looked down at Ryoko in thought. This woman passed out on the ground beside him… was she really a galactic outlaw?

"You two," he said carefully, "Do you have any proof of this?"

"Well," said Azaka, sounding almost sheepish, "I'm afraid all documented proof would be within the databanks of _Ryu-Oh_ …"

"Which were severely damaged along with the rest of the ship in the crash," finished Kamidake.

Heero sighed. "So you also don't have proof of this Ayeka being royalty, I take it?"

The two cylindrical guardians looked back and forth between each other, seeming quite nervous.

"We are the proof, sir Heero!" said Azaka rather forcefully.

"We would not be with Princess Ayeka were she not a member of the Jurai Royal Family!" said Kamidake.

For seemingly artificial beings the two guardians could put serious emotional inflection in their statements. To Heero the two of them seemed flustered and panicked, and he decided to exploit that.

"This is my first time hearing about this 'Jurai' you speak of," he said, "That also goes for both Ayeka and Ryoko. This is our people's first encounter with life from beyond our star system. Unless you can offer me solid proof beyond your word then I'm afraid this is simply a case of your statements versus those of Ryoko. That's not enough for any sort of legal verdict on this planet."

"Oh, dear," said Azaka meekly.

"It appears we are in something of a bind here," said Kamidake, "Whatever shall we do?"

Heero looked over at the unconscious Ryoko again. He really had no reason to disbelieve Azaka and Kamidake. Ayeka's garb alone seemed very similar to that of old Japanese royalty or nobility, and the two cylindrical guardians were acting very much like loyal servants. Ryoko's attire, while somewhat exotic, seemed more like clothes worn by everyday people rather than royalty, although Heero knew that he could hardly make an accurate assessment given that he had zero knowledge of galactic fashion trends and culture.

He didn't know anything about her that wasn't hearsay from Ayeka and her guardians or what Ryoko had told him up in orbit. Heero was skeptical of her account and had only attacked Ayeka's ship because she had resumed hostilities first. The Gundam pilot had a lot of questions that needed to be answered, but based on the orbital clash and what little he had learned down here it seemed that the two women were not a threat to Earth. Their fight had been directed strictly at each other until he had intervened. Sally and Lady Une would be relieved; war with an interstellar civilization was the last thing the Earth Sphere needed.

Digging into one of the pouches of his flight suit he pulled out a small radio. It was fortunate that his suit was both vacuum-proof and water-proof or the device would've been ruined.

"Water, this is Zero," said Heero, "Do you read me?"

Sally's response was immediate. "Loud and clear! You okay, Heero?"

He nodded. "All things considered, yes. How bad was the damage from our drop?"

"Our initial assessments show that it's surprisingly minimal," said Sally, "The impact kicked up a big wave in the lake, but apart from some damaged boats and soaked buildings things aren't that bad. No civilian casualties reported so far."

Heero breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear it."

"We really caught a lucky break here," said Sally, "Anyone ever tell you that you should hit a casino, Heero? With your luck you'd probably win big at the slots or tables."

Heero shook his head. "I don't gamble."

Sally chuckled. "Unless it's with your life. We've got aerial images of Tallgeese III and the two ships. We can recover your mobile suit but I don't think those other two craft are going anywhere anytime soon."

"Understood," said Heero.

"I'm pulling up in a nearby parking lot now," said Sally, "Give me a few minutes and stay put; I'll come to you."

"Copy that," said Heero, "Zero, out."

With nothing else to do he sat back on the shore and waited for Sally to arrive. It was early evening and there was a beautiful sunset in progress. Red light flowed out over the lake, illuminating hulls of the two ships that had mere minutes ago been shooting the crap out of each other. It was quite a sight, but Heero knew that the two ships sticking out of the lake like that would raise serious problems once the public took a good look at them. After a moment Heero shrugged; public relations and information control weren't his responsibilities anyway. Director Lady Une would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Once again he looked down at Ryoko. Wiping some of her hair away from her face, the Perfect Soldier studied the literally otherworldly woman. What was her real story? Why had she come out to the Sol System? Did she have a family? Heero wasn't normally the type of person to take such an interest in other peoples' lives outside of his missions, but then again Ryoko was far from a normal person.

Sally's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Hey, Heero!"

Looking up, the Gundam pilot saw Sally running over to meet him. Behind her were several men and women in dark suits; she'd brought a team of operatives and support personnel with her. Given the situation Heero couldn't blame her.

Sally and the others stopped in their tracks as they surveyed the scene. Heero wasn't surprised. After all, here was Preventers' top operative sitting on the shore of Lake Genval next to a beautiful alien woman, and just a few meters away was another extraterrestrial female being watched over by two strange cylindrical machines. Combine that with the upper hulls of the two spaceships and the Tallgeese III sticking out of the surface of the lake in the background and it made for an image straight out of a science fiction movie.

Noticing that Sally's hand and those of the other Preventers personnel were hovering over their sidearms Heero raised his hand and gestured for calm. "It's all right. They're not hostile towards us. Besides, they're both out cold."

Sally nodded, and Heero was surprised to see her smirk. "Well, well. You _would_ find a way to get shot down and end up with two ladies."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Heero.

Sally chuckled. "Please, don't play this game, Heero. Half the women in our department have had their sights set on you ever since you joined up, but you've focused only on your work and haven't gone on a single date. It only figures that when we make first contact with alien life it ends up being you getting into an orbital shootout with two women."

"Now you're sounding like Duo," Heero grumbled.

"You could learn a thing or two from him," Sally replied, "At least he knows how to loosen up a bit, especially with Hilde."

"That's irrelevant," said Heero, quite eager to change the subject, "We need to get Ryoko and Ayeka somewhere safe so they can recover."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "So you're already on a first name basis with these two? You move fast, Heero."

"Sally…" Heero grumbled.

Sally laughed. "Oh, come on, can't you handle a bit of teasing?"

"This hardly seems like the time for it," Heero deadpanned.

"I disagree," said Sally with a smile, "You just survived first contact with aliens and an orbital drop, and there's not a single civilian casualty. In that light I'd say there's no harm in some teasing and banter. You know humor's a great way to deal with excess adrenaline."

Heero shook his head. "It's not really my style."

Sally sighed. "Fine, be that way. I suppose we've got a lot of work ahead of us anyway."

Heero nodded. "We can't use any of the public hospitals. We'll have to take them to HQ's infirmary. I don't think they're severely injured, but we should play it safe."

"Agreed," said Sally before turning to the men and women behind her, "Okay, people, let's get them to the cars and load them up. Gently, I might add!"

Heero tried to stand up and pick up Ryoko, but his body was still quite sore from the crash and he couldn't help but groan.

"Not you, Heero," said Sally as she came over to him, "I know you're tough, but an orbital drop like that's nothing to sneeze at. We're getting you to the infirmary too. No heavy lifting for you."

Heero reluctantly nodded. "Fine. I'll ride with Ryoko."

"Suit yourself," said Sally.

Meanwhile two agents had moved towards Ayeka, only for Azaka and Kamidake to intercept them.

"Halt!" said Azaka, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Don't take another step towards the Princess!" said Kamidake.

"Ma'am, orders!" said one of the agents.

Sally turned to Heero. "I don't suppose you can help out with this?"

"Yeah," said Heero, stepping forward, "Azaka, Kamidake, this is Sally Po. She's my commanding officer. Her agents are going to take Ayeka to a facility for medical examination. She won't be harmed, I promise."

Azaka and Kamidake turned to each other for a moment, and Heero wondered what silent thoughts were passing between them. After a moment the two guardians turned to Heero again.

"Very well, sir Heero," said Azaka, "We will entrust Princess Ayeka's care to you."

"However," said Kamidake, "we insist on being brought along. If you do not agree to this condition we cannot let you take Princess Ayeka!"

Heero nodded and turned to Sally. "Seems reasonable enough."

Sally sighed. "All right. I'll call for a truck from the motor pool; no way we're fitting these two in the cars."

"What about Tallgeese III?" asked Heero.

"Director Une's already mobilized a recovery team," Sally replied, "It'll be an all-nighter but they should be able to get your machine out of the lake. Can't say the same thing for the spaceships."

"That's fine," said Heero, "We should be careful with those two anyway. We've got no idea what kind of technology we're dealing with here."

"Good point," said Sally, "We can observe from a distance for now. Those ships aren't in a hurry to be somewhere anyway."

He watched as two agents picked up Ryoko and began carrying her away. Heero followed close behind, and when they got to the black government-issue sedan he got into the back of the car with her.

 _Rest up, Ryoko_ , he thought, _You're going to need it._

….

With a groan Ryoko made her way back to consciousness. The darkness slowly began to recede, and while she couldn't make out details there was a lot of white and a few blurs that she thought might be people. One was very close by and seemed to lean in as her vision returned to her.

"Uhn…" she moaned, "How much did I drink?"

"Sorry," said a familiar male voice, "but you didn't have a drop, and that's not a hangover you're feeling."

Ryoko blinked, and the details of her surroundings began to return to focus much more quickly. She realized she was in some kind of hospital room lying in a bed. There was an I.V. in her left arm and to the right of the bed she saw Heero sitting in a chair nearby.

She couldn't help but smile despite how sore she felt. "Hey, Heero. How long was I out?"

"A few hours," said Heero.

Taking a closer look at him, Ryoko realized that he was out of his flight suit and in casual clothes, a simple green tank top and blue jeans. She could also see several bandages wrapped around his arms and one around his forehead.

"Hey," she said, sitting up, "Are you okay?"

Heero nodded. "I'm fine. I don't really think these were necessary, but the medics insisted. I'm not easy to kill."

Ryoko smiled again. "Yeah, you've got that right."

Then she heard another familiar voice groan. Looking past Heero she saw Ayeka lying in a bed as well, while on watch nearby were Azaka and Kamidake.

"Oh, great," Ryoko grumbled, "You had to bring her along too?"

"What did you expect?" asked Heero, "Special treatment?"

Ryoko pouted. "A girl can hope, can't she?"

"Damn it all," moaned Ayeka from behind him as she regained consciousness, "Where am I?"

"Princess Ayeka!" said Azaka as the Princess opened her eyes, "It's so good to see you waking up!"

"Are you all right, Princess?" asked Kamidake.

"I believe so…" she said as she sat up before seeing Heero, "Oh, it's you… I suppose I should thank you for bringing me here."

Heero shook his head. "Don't mention it."

 _Here it comes_ , thought Ryoko, just waiting for Ayeka to spot her.

That only took a second, and Ayeka immediately scowled. "Ryoko! What are you doing here?"

"Ask Heero," said Ryoko, "He brought both of us here."

"Oh," said Ayeka, looking slightly mollified, "I see. I suppose that was the right thing to do… even if _you_ didn't deserve it, Ryoko."

She scowled at Ayeka. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"A criminal like you should be in a jail cell," said Ayeka, "It's only thanks to Heero's grace and charity that you're here instead!"

"Oh yeah?" said Ryoko, "Well if I don't deserve to be here then I know for a fact that _you_ don't either! You're the one that shot Heero down, remember?"

Much to Ryoko's surprise Ayeka's response wasn't anger but shock. "Wait, what?"

"You blew out his machine's engine, remember?" said Ryoko, "He had to ride Ryo-Ohki down through the atmosphere to survive! You could've killed him!"

"Azaka, Kamidake!" she cried to her guardians, "Is this true?"

"Well…" said Azaka, "Princess… I'm afraid it is."

"In your defense," said Kamidake, "he did fire on _Ryu-Oh_."

"Only after you started attacking me again!" Ryoko pointed out.

Ayeka actually ignored Ryoko and looked right at Heero before bowing her head. "Please, Heero, I beg your forgiveness!"

 _Huh_ , thought Ryoko, _Didn't see that coming…_

Heero nodded. "It's okay. I suggest the two of you save your energy rather than bicker like this. You won't get to relax for long."

"What do you mean?" asked Ryoko.

"For starters," said Heero, "the organization I'm part of is charged with maintaining peace in the Earth Sphere. Not only were you two in the middle of a battle when you showed up here, but the two of you are also the first contact we've had with life that's not from this planet. Due to those factors I'm obligated to give you both a thorough interrogation."

Ryoko gulped. "Interrogation?"

"Now look here," said Ayeka nervously, "There's no need for such…extreme measures."

Heero raised his hand. "I think you're misunderstanding me. When I say 'interrogation', I mean exactly that; I'm going to question the two of you. What I am _not_ going to do is torture you. My government does not torture people, and as an individual I find the practice disgusting. I promise that you won't be harmed."

Ryoko smiled. "Well, that's a good to hear."

"Indeed," said Ayeka, "In that case I will give you my full cooperation, Heero. Good luck with this outlaw, though."

Ryoko glared at her. "You just don't know when to quit, do you? You want to fight? I'll take you right here and now!"

"Take your best shot, thief!" snarled Ayeka.

The air crackled with energy between them until Heero stood up and intervened.

"That's enough!" he said firmly, "No one is fighting anyone here. I didn't bring you two here just so you could kill each other. While you're here you _will_ refrain from fighting. Is that understood?"

Ryoko sighed. "Fine, but only because I owe you one."

Ayeka bowed her head. "As you wish, Heero. I did offer my cooperation, after all. You have my word that I will not cause another disturbance here."

Heero sighed with relief and sat back down. "Thank you."

Ryoko then saw him grimace and rub his chest. "Heero!"

"Oh my," said Ayeka, for the first time noticing his injuries, "You're wounded!"

Heero shook his head. "It's fine. I've had worse."

"Worse than this?" asked Ryoko, "What kind of trouble do you get into?"

"That's not your concern," said Heero, "Resting up is. I've got a lot of questions for both of you, so the interrogation's going to take a while."

Ryoko nodded. "All right."

"Very well," said Ayeka, though she still looked concerned, "Please inform me when you are ready to begin."

The Jurai Princess lay back down, and Ryoko figured she should do the same. As she did so she saw Heero lean back in his chair and close his eyes.

 _He looks pretty beat_ , she thought, _I guess I can take it easy on him for now. You'd better rest up too, Heero. After all, if I'm going to be on this planet for a while, I might as well enjoy it. You and I are gonna have some fun once we're out of here._

….

 **September 3** **rd** **, A.C. 198**

Breathing a sigh of frustration as the door to the interrogation room closed behind him, Heero leaned back against the wall.

 _I'm getting nowhere with this_ , he thought, _What the hell am I supposed to do?_

"How goes it?" asked a familiar voice.

Looking down the hall Heero saw Sally walking towards him. She was smiling, but he could tell that she was tired. She must've been up all night helping Director Une deal with the ongoing fallout from the landing at Lake Genval.

"Not well," he said, "It's just like up in orbit; Ryoko tells me one thing and Ayeka tells me the exact opposite. Splitting them into different rooms hasn't made much of a difference… although it has kept them from trying to kill each other again."

"So they're disputing what caused the fight up in orbit," said Sally as she leaned against the wall next to him, "That's not too surprising. What about aside from that? You get any information on this 'Empire of Jurai' Ayeka mentioned earlier?"

Heero nodded. "More than I thought I would. Stories from the fight aside, I've got some pretty interesting information on Jurai. Long story short, it's quite real, and an interstellar powerhouse at that."

"Any chances of them coming our way?" asked Sally, "If what Ayeka says is true we've got their crown princess here. They won't be happy about that."

"Actually," said Heero, "I don't think they know she's out here. Ryoko and Ayeka may be telling conflicting stories about the battle in the solar system, but one thing has matched up with both their accounts."

"What's that?" asked Sally.

"Apparently," Heero replied, "Earth's out in the galactic equivalent of the middle of nowhere. We get the occasional through traffic at the outer edge of our solar system, but we're not exactly high up on anyone's interstellar travel list. Ayeka said that she had activated a distress beacon on her ship after the crash, but with the apparently limited traffic we get out here it may be quite some time before anyone picks up on it."

Sally smiled. "Nice to have some good news on that front. However, if her government is indeed an empire that is some cause for concern. Historically such nations tend to have expansionist foreign policies."

"We might be okay as far as that goes," said Heero, "If what Ayeka says is true the Empire of Jurai stopped expanding its borders several hundred years ago. They seemed to have recognized that they can only project power to a certain extent before they become overstretched and vulnerable. The current Emperor is supposed to be a benevolent figure too, although I only have Ayeka's word on that."

"What about Ryoko supposedly being a galactic criminal?" said Sally, "What are your thoughts on that?"

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. "She was definitely running, that's for sure. As for being an outlaw… it's a distinct possibility. I don't think she's a danger to us though."

Sally nodded. "I'll trust your judgment on that. By the way, I've got some news from Lake Genval."

"Tallgeese III's been extracted?" asked Heero.

"Yup," Sally replied, "Took all night, but they got it out. I'm afraid you won't be flying it for quite a while, though."

"That's to be expected," said Heero, "Let me know when they analyze the impact from Ayeka's ship's guns. I know I got hit with an energy weapon, but it will still be interesting to get more information on the kind of technology she was using."

"I'll keep an ear open for any word on that," said Sally, "Speaking of ships, more news on that from the lake… and it's pretty weird."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Sally fished her smart phone out of her pocket. "It'll be easier to show you. Check out the pictures the observation team sent me."

She held up the phone in front of Heero. The first picture on it was of Ryo-Ohki and _Ryu-Oh_ down in the lake, their upper hulls breaching the surface.

"This was taken about an hour after I picked you up," said Sally.

"What am I looking for here?" asked Heero, "It doesn't look like anything's changed since the impact."

Sally nodded. "Correct, at least as far as this picture goes. However, check out this next one. This is from about six hours after impact."

The image shifted, and Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the new picture. This time there was a very clear difference; the ships were much further down in the water. They also seemed to be glowing, with Ryo-Ohki wreathed in red light and _Ryu-Oh_ enveloped in a green aura.

"How's that possible?" asked Heero, "They landed in a shallow part of the lake, and they were firmly in place when I last saw them."

"That's not the best part," said Sally, "Check out this one. It's time stamped two hours after that last picture."

The image shifted again, and this time Heero's attention was immediately drawn to the fact that the ships had both completely disappeared.

"What happened?" asked Heero.

"We're not entirely sure," said Sally, "We know the ships didn't take off; that would've been impossible to miss. We sent in divers to check it out. They reported seeing glowing red and green lights in the lake in the same positions as where the two ships went down, but when they tried to get close there was suddenly a swift current that pushed them aside."

"A strong current in Lake Genval?" Heero replied, raising an eyebrow, "That's not possible."

"We've seen a lot of impossible things since these two ships showed up in the solar system," said Sally, "We're still trying to figure out what's going on out there. I don't think it's anything dangerous, but… well, we don't really have enough information to know for sure. I was hoping you could ply Ryoko or Ayeka and try to clear things up."

"I can try," said Heero, "but there's something we need to consider first."

"What's that?" asked Sally.

"Time," he said, "You know our detention rules, Sally; we don't hold people for longer than twenty-four hours unless we have sufficient probable cause to charge and arrange for trial. We still have time to hold them and question them, but it won't last forever."

"That's for normal cases," said Sally, "Heero, you have to agree that these are hardly ordinary circumstances."

"I do," said Heero, "but I also know that we can't hold them indefinitely. I realize we haven't had them long, but I'm pretty sure that they're not a threat to us. They certainly haven't committed any crimes against us."

Sally smirked. "Really? You mean apart from shooting down a government agent? That does carry a pretty hefty penalty, Heero."

"I'm willing to overlook that," said Heero, "Considering that this was our first contact with extraterrestrial life things could've gone much worse. Besides, they weren't hostile towards us, and I intervened in their fight at my own risk. For what it's worth I think Ayeka sincerely regrets that she fired on me."

Sally sighed. "Well, I'll admit I'd feel bad about holding them indefinitely. We're not the old Alliance or OZ after all. Still, this situation… it's hard to apply the normal rules here."

Heero nodded. "I know, but there's got to be some sort of arrangement we can work out."

There was silence for a moment before Sally smiled. "You know… I just might have a solution."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "What do you have in mind?"

"Let me run it by Director Une first," said Sally, "I'll get back to you when I've got her answer. In the meantime keep questioning Ryoko and Ayeka."

Heero nodded. "Understood."

….

Leaning back in her chair, the twenty-two year old Director of Preventers closed her brown eyes to give herself a moment to process Sally Po's proposal. Running her hands through her long brown hair, she sighed in weariness. Lady Une wouldn't normally make such a display in front of others, but Sally was not just a subordinate and a coworker; she was a friend. They were in the privacy of her office so she didn't need to worry about decorum. Despite her high rank she wore a simple Preventers uniform just like Sally, consisting of black pants and shoes, an olive drab button-up shirt and a tie of the same color, and a black jacket with a blue circle with a light blue star on the right shoulder and a red and gold insignia over her right breast.

"Long night for you too, huh?" said Sally.

Lady Une opened her eyes and gave her friend a tired smile. "You have no idea. The press and the Interior Ministry have been the worst of it by far. I'm actually glad that those two ships have disappeared from the surface of Lake Genval; it's making things a bit easier to deal with now that the civilians can't come up and take pictures of the damn things."

"I told Heero about that," said Sally, "He's trying to get information on what happened to them from Ryoko and Ayeka."

Lady Une shook her head. "Two alien women crash land on Earth yesterday and we're already referring to them by their first names… this definitely isn't going the way I thought first contact would."

"It could be worse," Sally replied, "and I think that proposal I just gave you will help us deal with a few more problems."

"Yes," said Lady Une, "and I find it a lot more appealing than handing them over to a science team for indefinite study."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "That's surprising. I thought I'd get a little more pushback from you on this."

Lady Une chuckled. "Well, it's a creative proposal, and I think it works. We're already up to our necks in reporters and conspiracy theorists trying to confirm if we recovered aliens or not. Turning this into an Area 51-style scenario is not going to help. What better way to hide them than in plain sight?"

"I still haven't run this by Heero," said Sally, "Do you think he'll go for this?"

"I'll make it an order," Lady Une replied, "and besides, whether he realizes it or not I think he needs this."

"What do you mean?" asked Sally.

"We've talked about this a few times now," said Lady Une, "We both knew that things were never going to work out between him and Relena. Divergent schedules, different backgrounds, conflicting worldviews… really, it's a mercy that they simply drifted apart rather than go through a whole relationship and have it crash and burn."

Sally nodded. "I'm with you there, but what's that have to do with our current situation?"

"Simple," said Lady Une, "You and I both agree that he's been working far too hard. He needs more of a social life, something to look forward to outside of his duties, or he's going to burn out. He's our best agent, but he's only human. This can help him… though he probably won't see it that way at first."

Sally smiled. "Yeah, and the look on his face when I tell him is going to be priceless. So you're fully behind this, right? I get to tell him it's an order and he doesn't get to say no?"

Lady Une nodded. "You've got my backing, Sally. Go give Heero the news. I'll start making the appropriate arrangements on my end."

….

"So," said Heero, "you're saying Ryo-Ohki's going into hibernation?"

From across the table Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, if what you told me's right. She needs to do that after that kind of crash so she can recover."

"So she really is a living starship," said Heero.

Ryoko nodded. "Yup. Ryo-Ohki and I have been together since… well, a really long time. Once she's healed up I'll have to give you two a real introduction. I think she'd like you."

 _A living starship would like me?_ , Heero thought, _And here I thought this day couldn't get any stranger._

"What about _Ryu-Oh_?" he asked, "Is that ship also alive?"

"Well, yeah," Ryoko replied, "It's a Jurai Royal Treeship. It's probably got a different healing process than Ryo-Ohki though."

"Royal Treeship?" asked Heero.

"Jurai ships are weird," said Ryoko, "Any government craft, whether it's under the Royal Family, the Imperial Fleet, or any other official office, has a Jurai tree serving as its source of power. I don't know all the details, but I guess the ship grows out from the tree. Engines, guidance systems, weapons, you name it. Technicians can add stuff on, but the main vessel is basically an extension of the tree."

Heero sighed. Just when he thought he'd heard everything… it wasn't that he didn't trust Ryoko on this particular detail; she didn't have any reason to lie to him about it. However, it was hard to swallow.

"Okay," he said after a moment, "Is there anything else you can tell me about Jurai Treeships?"

Ryoko shook his head. "Sorry, that's all I got."

Heero nodded. "What about Ryo-Ohki?"

Ryoko smiled. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything," Heero replied, "Her power, her speed, where she's from… anything you can tell me."

Ryoko nodded. "All right. I honestly don't know where Ryo-Ohki's from. I didn't see any others like her on the planet I met her on, so I don't know if that was her home world or not."

"Have you encountered others like her in the galaxy?" Heero asked.

Ryoko looked down for a moment and frowned. "Well… there was one, but… I'd rather not talk about that one, okay?"

"Why not?" asked Heero.

Ryoko folded her arms. "I'd just rather not, all right? Look, you can ask me anything else about Ryo-Ohki, but I'm not touching that subject."

Heero decided to shelve that line of inquiry for now; he could return to it another time. "Very well. How strong is she?"

Ryoko grinned. "Now that's more like it. She packs quite a punch. You got to see her firepower during my fight with Ayeka. Royal Treeships are tough bastards though. Against another target Ryo-Ohki would've kicked ass."

"What sort of target?" asked Heero.

Ryoko's brow furrowed in thought. "Hmmm… something like a Jurai fleet patrol ship or a Galaxy Police cruiser or another pirate ship. Most ships aren't as tough as something like the _Ryu-Oh_."

"What about defenses?" asked Heero, "It looked like Ryo-Ohki could take a pounding."

Ryoko nodded. "She's got an energy field and a tough hull, but she's better at a running fight than a straight-up slugging match. Still, it takes a lot to bring her down."

"So I noticed," said Heero, "How fast is she?"

"Well," said Ryoko, "obviously she can go faster than light to travel between star systems. She's got a pretty good sub-space speed too. Ryo-Ohki can outrun plenty of ships, and she's pretty maneuverable too."

Heero nodded, mentally trying to classify Ryo-Ohki in terms that he recognized. It was a difficult task, though, and ultimately he settled on 'gunship' for lack of something better.

"Hey," said Ryoko, leaning forward, "how much longer are you going to keep me in here? Not that I don't mind being interviewed by a cute guy like you, but a girl needs fresh air sooner or later."

"It won't be too much longer," said Heero as he stood up, "I'll let you know when we're done."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out," he replied as he went to the door, "I need to think."

As the door closed behind him he leaned back against the nearby wall. He'd learned so much over these interview sessions that it was hard to keep everything straight in his head, and that was without bearing in mind that he needed to take what Ryoko and Ayeka told him with a grain of salt.

 _I feel like my head's about to explode_ , he thought, _It's a good thing the conversations in those rooms are recorded. I'm the one doing the interrogations and I'm still having a hard time believing what I'm hearing… even after that skirmish in orbit._

He heard a strange rippling noise, and then a familiar female voice from just above his head. "Hey! What's on your mind, handsome?"

He pushed off the wall and whirled around at lightning speed. Even a young man as calm and composed as Heero usually was could not stop his eyes from widening as he saw Ryoko's upper body coming _through_ the wall.

"What the hell?" he thought, his hand hovering over his pistol.

Ryoko laughed. "Oh, man, that was great! I was hoping to get a reaction out of you. That was priceless!"

Heero shook his head. "How are you… what the hell are you doing?"

Ryoko smiled and came through the wall the rest of the way, hovering over to him before gently touching down on the floor. "Easy there, hotshot. I promise I'm not going to cause trouble here. I just wanted to get out of that room for a bit. You can't blame a girl for that, can you?"

"You just came through a _solid wall_ ," said Heero, still having a hard time believing he had just seen that.

Ryoko winked. "Yeah, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Get to know me better and I just might let you in on them!"

"If you could float through walls," said Heero, "why did you stay in the interrogation room until now?"

Ryoko shrugged. "I felt I owed you one for helping me out up in orbit. Sure, Ayeka still rammed me and we all ran up crashing in that lake, but you still attacked her when she started firing at me again. So I didn't want to cause too much trouble for you here. Still, you kept me cooped up in there for a long time! I had to get out just for a little bit."

"I don't suppose I can talk you into going back in there?" Heero deadpanned.

Ryoko smirked as she came up to him and leaned forward, pressing her ample bosom against his chest and putting her mouth right next to his ear. "That depends. Do we get to have some fun if I say yes?"

"Am I interrupting something?"

 _Oh, crap_ , thought Heero, knowing full well who that voice belonged to.

He and Ryoko turned to see Sally standing in the hall. Her arms were folded, and she had a very amused smile on her face.

"Don't mind me," she said with a smirk, "What sort of 'fun' were you going to drag him into, Ryoko?"

Ryoko smiled. "Why do you want to know? Did you want to watch?"

Heero shook his head and moved around Ryoko. "Sally, I've got that ship intel you wanted."

"Glad to hear it," she replied, "You can fill me in on that later. Right now I've got something I need to discuss with you and Ryoko, along with Ayeka. Is _she_ at least still in her interview room?"

Heero nodded. "I didn't let Ryoko out, you know. She got out on her own."

"So I saw," said Sally as she looked at Ryoko, "Phasing through walls… that _is_ an interesting trick. Is Ayeka capable of that too?"

Ryoko shook her head. "Nope, just me."

"Small favors," muttered Heero.

"I see," said Sally, "Heero, why don't you bring her and her guardians out here. I'll explain everything then.

Heero nodded and went to the door across the hall. Opening it, he looked over at Ayeka and the two cylindrical guardians and motioned for them to follow her.

As she left the room Ayeka stretched and yawned. "Oh, it feels good to get out of that cramped room. Now, sir Heero, what may I assist you with?"

Heero then saw her glare at Ryoko. The alleged pirate returned the scowl, but he was relieved to see that they did nothing beyond that.

"Now," said Sally, "per our laws we cannot detain either of you for more than twenty-four hours without filing charges, and we have no plans on doing that. We're willing to overlook the incident that occurred up in orbit as a simple misunderstanding. Consider yourselves lucky; the punishment for attacking one of our agents is usually quite severe."

Ayeka bowed her head. "I thank you for your consideration and mercy. Your leniency in this matter will not be forgotten."

"So you're not going to keep us here much longer, then," said Ryoko, "What's going to happen to us? We're both going to be stuck on this world for awhile."

Sally nodded. "I'm aware of that. Given your status we can't just send you off on your own, but it's also unrealistic of us to just keep you at HQ. As a middle ground you'll be placed under observational custody."

Both women gave Sally a blank stare, and Heero was confused as well. This was the first time he'd heard that term.

"Sally," he said, "Can you elaborate on that?"

Sally smiled at him, and Heero did not like it one bit; she looked quite amused, and if the past was any indicator that promised to be trouble for the Perfect Soldier.

"Ryoko and Ayeka," said Sally, "for the foreseeable future you'll be moving in with one of our agents… our _top_ agent, to be precise."

Heero shook his head, barely concealing his shock. "Sally, you _can't_ be serious."

Ryoko grinned. "Well, so that'd be _you_ , right Heero? This'll be fun!"

Ayeka looked down for a moment, and Heero could've sworn he saw a bit of red in her face. "Well, if we must take up temporary residence here, I suppose this is an acceptable arrangement."

"Well," said Sally, "I'm glad the two of you are willing to go along with this. Heero, I trust this won't be a problem?"

 _She damn well knows I have a problem with this_ , he thought, trying his best not to glare at her.

"Sally," he said carefully, "there has to be another arrangement we can come to. My place isn't made for guests."

"What's the matter, Heero?" said Ryoko, putting her arm around him and smirking, "You only got one bed? I'm good with that."

"Oh, you foul temptress!" said Ayeka with a scowl as she stomped forward and grabbed Heero by the arm, "Sir Heero, I promise that I will be no imposition. I will make sure that you do not regret hosting me!"

"Sally," said Heero as he managed to extricate himself from the two women, "I really don't think this is going to work. How am I supposed to do my work if I'm keeping an eye on two houseguests that just so happen to be the first extraterrestrials we've ever had contact with?"

"I've already cleared this with Director Une," Sally replied without missing a beat, "Your injuries weren't severe, but you did take a beating in the crash. Due to this the Director has deemed that you be put on paid time off so you can recover. You can watch over our visitors and still earn your paycheck. After a little time to rest up we'll start sending you intelligence files for review; you can work from home as an analyst for a while."

"You're taking me out of the field?" asked Heero.

On the outside he appeared as calm as ever, but within he was still trying to recover from the surprise that Sally had dropped on him. He hadn't known what the Director and Sally had had planned for keeping an eye on Ryoko and Ayeka, but it definitely wasn't this.

"The field's not going anywhere, Heero," said Sally, "and between us I think you could use some time away from it. We have plenty of other operatives to handle our missions, Heero. You can take some time off. If anyone's earned it, it's you."

"This isn't my idea of a vacation," Heero deadpanned.

"That's because you have no idea what a vacation really is," said Sally, "It's about time you had one."

"Don't worry, handsome," said Ryoko as she looped her arm through his, "I'll show you how to have a good time!"

"I should hardly think so!" cried Ayeka as she grabbed Heero's other arm, "The kind of _good time_ you undoubtedly have in mind for him is beneath a man of his stature! Sir Heero, I promise I shall do everything in my power to make your time off refreshing and reinvigorating!"

 _How did I get myself in this mess?_ , thought Heero, _Caught between a supposed princess and an alleged pirate… my only saving grace is that Duo's not here to see this._

He sighed as he yet again freed himself from the two women. "Do I have any say in this, Sally?"

"I'm afraid not, Heero," she replied with a triumphant smile, "This is a direct order from Director Une. Take Ryoko and Ayeka in and keep an eye on them; that is your mission, Heero."

He closed his eyes for a moment to center himself. There was only one response he could give to that.

When he opened his eyes he met Sally's gaze and gave her a small but firm nod. "Very well. Mission accepted."

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Heero: Per the orders I was given, I brought Ryoko and Ayeka to my apartment in the city of Brussels._

 _Ryoko: It's a pretty nice pad! So, Heero, do I get to share your bed or are you going to make me sleep on the couch with Ayeka?_

 _Ayeka: How dare you so brazenly attempt your foul seductions on our host like that!_

 _Azaka: Well, this certainly promises to be a lively stay._

 _Kamidake: Oh dear, I do hope her Highness can rein her temper in. It would be so embarrassing if she wrecked sir Heero's apartment in a fit of rage!_

 _Heero: Since I hadn't been planning on houseguests, I'll need to head out into town for supplies._

 _Ryoko: Woohoo! Shopping trip!_

 _Ayeka: Oh, how exciting!_

 _Heero: As long as my two new roommates don't attract too much attention, things should go okay._

 _Ryoko: Come on, lighten up a bit, Heero! This isn't just a trip to the grocery store. It's a chance for us to get to know each other a little better._

 _Ayeka: Not to mention a delightful opportunity to get better acquainted with this new planet we find ourselves on._

 _Ryoko: Next time, on Chapter Three: No Need For New Friends!_

 _Heero: Talk about strange companions…_

 **Author's Notes:** All right, second chapter's up! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far, I'm glad you're enjoying the story's opening act.

Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Well, the story's moving along at a decent clip so far, right? Unfortunately after this the pace of releases is going to slow up. Remember, I am working on this alongside my Gundam Wing/Gundam Seed crossover saga after all.

Enjoy!

 **Chapter 3: No Need For New Friends!**

"Well," said Heero as he turned off the black car, "here we are."

They hadn't left Preventers HQ until quite late at night. This was intentional; Heero wanted to minimize the chances of witnesses as he took his new roommates to his residence. He wasn't worried about Ryoko and Ayeka; while their clothes may have been unusual by contemporary Earth standards they wouldn't attract more than a curious glance. The real concern was Azaka and Kamidake, who were both stowed away in the truck that had followed Heero into the underground parking lot of his apartment complex.

In the front passenger seat Ryoko looked out the window. "You live down here?"

Heero shook his head. "I'm towards the top floor. Come on, we need to unload Azaka and Kamidake and get them into the elevator fast."

"Lead the way, sir Heero," said Ayeka from the back seat, "We will follow you wherever you wish."

He opened the door and scanned the garage for signs of anyone else. Heero was still sore as he stood up, and he knew he would remain so for a few days, but the bandages were off and he counted that as progress. Seeing that the garage was quiet he signaled for Ryoko and Ayeka to get out and motioned for the truck behind him to unload Azaka and Kamidake.

"This way," he said as he headed towards the elevator.

It was a tight fit but somehow the five of them were able to squeeze into the elevator. The building had eight floors not counting the underground parking lot, and Heero hit the key for the seventh floor.

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka as the doors closed, "Please do not take offense, but I pray that your domicile is not as confined as this primitive contraption."

"It's fine," Heero replied, "and don't worry, there's plenty of room."

"Can this thing hurry up?" asked Ryoko, "It's cramped in here."

"We're almost there," said Heero.

There was a chime a few seconds later and the doors opened. Stepping out and going left down the hall and seeing that no one else was out and about, he led the way to his apartment.

Coming up to a door with the number 717 on it, he pulled out his key and unlocked it. "This is it."

He led the way into the apartment. It was a very nice upper-class residence; his salary as Preventers' top operative was considerable. The entryway had a coat and shoe closet just to the right of the door. After about a meter it opened up into a large central living area. There was a big right-angle couch in the middle, along with a large coffee table with a laptop on it and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. A spacious kitchen was to the left of the living area, while a sliding glass door led out to a balcony with an excellent view of the ESUN's capital city. A hallway to the right led to the bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, a storage room, a closet, and a small office room.

Looking behind him, Heero saw Ryoko smile. "This is nice! You've got a sweet setup here, Heero!"

Ayeka gave a nod of approval. "This is quite a lovely residence, sir Heero. You've done very well for yourself."

"Quite so," said Azaka, "Staying here shall be quite pleasant."

"Indeed," said Kamidake, "I'm so glad Princess Ayeka approves."

Heero went over to the door to lock it after everyone was inside. "Did you want something to eat? I need to go grocery shopping, but I should have some food around here."

He heard the sound of stomachs rumbling, and looking back he saw both Ryoko and Ayeka smiling sheepishly.

"Food sounds good," said Ryoko.

Ayeka nodded. "If it would not be too much trouble, sir Heero."

"Make yourselves comfortable," said Heero as he went to the kitchen, "I'll see what I've got in the fridge."

….

Sitting down on the couch while Heero was in the kitchen, Ryoko took a moment to look around and admire the apartment. It definitely hadn't been what she was expecting someone like Heero to live in; she'd thought a government agent would've had something smaller. If she had to spend time on Earth this wasn't a bad place to live at. It was very well kept, but then again Heero didn't strike her as a slob.

She leaned back into the cushion. "I could get used to this."

"Yes, I'm sure this is considerably above the accommodations a low-class criminal like yourself is used to," said Ayeka as she sat down at the far end of the couch.

Ryoko folded her arms and scowled at her. "Well you'd better not spend the whole time we're here complaining that this isn't as luxurious as that damn palace of yours."

Ayeka gave her an indignant glare. "I would _never_! Unlike a rogue such as yourself, _I_ have a proper sense of decorum and manners. I'm profoundly grateful that sir Heero has agreed to take me in, and while I would rather he not extend you the same courtesy I will not question his decision or raise a fuss about his residence! Of course, I wouldn't expect a corsair like you to understand such grace or appreciate the burden sir Heero is taking on in providing sanctuary for us."

"Hey!" Ryoko snapped, "I am plenty grateful that Heero's taken me in! What I don't get is why he's willing to put up with a spoiled brat like you!"

"Insults again!" snarled Ayeka, those small cylinders appearing in the air again and energy crackling around her, "I will make you pay for your insolence!"

Ryoko brought her hands together, gathering crimson energy between them. "Try it, you royal pain in the ass!"

The air between them sparked with their fury as the two women prepared to resume their earlier battle…

…only for both of them to be brought low by another round of grumbling from their stomachs.

Ryoko sighed and leaned back on the couch again. "I really don't have the energy for this right now."

"Me too," Ayeka mumbled, "I'm so hungry…"

"It'll be ready in about ten minutes," said Heero from the kitchen.

"Oh!" said Ayeka, looking over at him and smiling, "Please, no need to rush on our account, sir Heero!"

Ryoko winked at him. "Whenever you're ready, hotshot."

The handsome young pilot turned back to whatever it was he was cooking while Ryoko and Ayeka slumped on the couch. With nothing better to do the two of them started looking around the apartment again, although it was so well kept that there was really not much to see.

"Hmm," said Ayeka after a few minutes, "That's rather strange…"

"What is?" asked Ryoko absently.

"Look around this place," said Ayeka, "Do you know what is missing?"

"Food?" Ryoko quipped.

Ayeka shook her head. "No, you imbecile. Pictures!"

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"For your information," said Ayeka, "I haven't spent my entire life in the palace or the villas of the imperial aristocracy. I have visited the homes of the common people before, and in them without fail I have always found pictures of one sort or another. Some are of friends and family, some of places they've been, events they've witnessed… they may vary, but I have always seen pictures in the homes I have been to, whether they are commoner dwellings or the Jurai Royal Palace."

"Fascinating," Ryoko deadpanned, "Your point?"

"My _point_ ," said Ayeka with a glare, "is that there are none _here_. Take a look around and tell me I'm wrong if you dare!"

Ryoko sighed. "Fine, if it'll get you off my back."

Looking around, Ryoko saw that Ayeka was right. Not only were there no pictures, but it seemed that there were no mementos of any kind to provide insight into their host's past. Either such items were in his bedroom or somewhere out of sight, or there were none to speak of.

 _Just who is this guy?_ , she thought, _All I really know about him is that he's a good pilot, a government agent, and handsome… I guess I'll just have to learn more as I go. He seems like a decent guy at least._

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sight of Heero walking over with two plates. As he set them down on the coffee table Ryoko saw they each had three triangular slices of what looked like some kind of bread crust with sauce, cheese, and circular slices of meat on the top.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's called pepperoni pizza," Heero replied, "Go ahead and try it."

"Do we just… use our bare hands?" asked Ayeka nervously.

"I can get you utensils if you prefer, Ayeka," said Heero.

"Come on, princess," said Ryoko as she grabbed a slice, "Stop trying to be so proper and just dig in!"

She took a bite and smiled at the taste. "Hey, this is good! Thanks, Heero!"

Ryoko saw Ayeka gingerly pick up a slice and take a small bite. "Oh, my… this is quite good."

Heero nodded. "I'll get you two some water."

"Thank you," said Ayeka.

"Just water?" asked Ryoko with a sly look in her eyes, "Come on, Heero, how about something stronger?"

Heero shook his head. "Not tonight. I'll break out a bottle of the good stuff some other time."

"Oh, so you do have a stash," said Ryoko, smirking, "Where's it at?"

The young man didn't reply, leaving Ryoko to pout as he went back to the kitchen.

"Really, Ryoko?" asked Ayeka between bites, "Heero's invited us into his home and is feeding us and you insist on imbibing alcohol? It's our first night here! Show some dignity!"

"Come on, Ayeka," said Ryoko, "It's not a welcome party without some good booze!"

"This isn't a welcome party," said Heero as he came back with two cups of water, "I didn't exactly have time to prep one, after all."

"Don't listen to her, sir Heero," said Ayeka, "I perfectly understand your situation. It's a pity Ryoko can't appreciate it."

"Hey, hold on there!" Ryoko snapped, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're still being an ungrateful houseguest!" Ayeka replied, "We have been given shelter and you expect to be thrown a party? Have some consideration for our host!"

Ryoko grimaced. She wouldn't admit it openly, but Ayeka did have a point.

"That's enough, you two," said Heero as he sat between them on the couch, "You really should eat and then get some rest. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Oh?" said Ryoko between bites, "What are we doing?"

"Shopping," Heero replied, "I'm not really prepared for long-term guests, so I need to stock up on food and some other things. I also need to take you two out to get some new outfits. Sorry, but what you're wearing right now stands out around here. I need you two to blend in."

Ryoko smiled. "Aw, you're taking us out shopping? Well, aren't you a generous guy, Heero! This'll be fun!"

"Are you sure this is all right?" asked Ayeka, "I mean… I wouldn't want to impose any greater burden on you than I already am."

Ryoko smirked. Ayeka could play the demure, modest royal all she wanted, but the space pirate could tell by the look in her eyes that the princess was fighting to hold back her excitement. She was just as eager to buy some new clothes as Ryoko was.

"It's fine," said Heero, "I do well enough for myself that I can afford it."

"All right!" said Ryoko with a grin, "I can't wait for tomorrow!"

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "I agree. It promises to be a joyful excursion!"

Studying Heero, Ryoko was surprised to see a very small smile form on his face. "Maybe…"

"Excuse me, sir Heero?" Azaka cut in, "What about us?"

"As Princess Ayeka's guardians, we must accompany her on this shopping expedition!" said Kamidake.

Heero shook his head. "I can't allow it. I'm sorry, but you two stick out far too much."

"We insist on going!" said Azaka firmly.

"We must protect Princess Ayeka!" cried Kamidake.

"Azaka, Kamidake, that is enough!" Ayeka cut in, "I'm sure that I will be quite safe with sir Heero. You will remain here. Is that understood?"

The lights flashed on both guardians. "Yes, Princess Ayeka."

Ryoko glanced over at Heero and saw that he didn't have any food. "Hey, Heero, what's up? Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"Don't tell me you provided us with the last of your food!" cried Ayeka.

Heero shook his head. "It's fine, I'm just not hungry. I had something to eat earlier while you two were in the interrogation rooms. I'm good for now."

"If you say so," said Ryoko as she continued to chow down.

"Very well," said Ayeka before doing the same.

After the two of them finished and Heero put their plates and cups in the dishwasher and sat back down with them. He was quiet for a moment, and Ryoko wondered what was on his mind.

"Listen," he said, "I've got some spare blankets, but I'm afraid I don't have any bedrolls here. Tonight you two will have to share the couch. I'll pick you both up bedrolls among the other items I grab on our shopping trip tomorrow. Can you two promise me you won't try to fight each other anymore tonight?"

Ryoko sighed. "Fine, but only because I don't have the energy for it. I'm too tired to argue."

Ayeka nodded reluctantly. "It can't be helped for tonight. You will have peace from us this evening, sir Heero. I give you my word."

Heero nodded, and Ryoko thought she saw him relax slightly. "Thank you."

 _He looks tired_ , she thought, _I guess I shouldn't stir anything up until tomorrow. He really needs to rest tonight._

He stood up and went down the hallway towards the closet. "I'll be right back."

Ryoko watched as the young man dug through the closet and pulled out two folded blankets. He then came back to the living room and set both down on the floor in front of the couch.

"These are all I have for tonight," he said, "You can use these and the couch pillows. I hope that's okay for now."

Ryoko smiled. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Yes," said Ayeka, smiling as well, "Thank you, sir Heero."

Heero nodded. "Well, it's late, so if you two are good here I'm going to turn in. I'll make you both breakfast in the morning, and then we'll head out for shopping."

"You got it," said Ryoko, winking at him, "Looking forward to it, Heero!"

"Good night, sir Heero!" said Ayeka, "I eagerly await tomorrow. Do rest well."

"Thank you," said Heero, "Good night, both of you."

Both women watched as the young man went down the hallway before entering his room and closing the door behind him.

"Well," said Ryoko, "he's an interesting guy."

Ayeka nodded. "Quite so. He's very gracious, and he seems to be well disciplined. I imagine he wouldn't be out of place in the Jurai Imperial Fleet."

Ryoko shook her head. "In your dreams, Ayeka."

Ayeka chuckled. "What's the matter, Ryoko? Afraid I might recruit him to join our ranks? Why, if I did that, he'd be beyond your reach, wouldn't he?"

Ryoko glared. "Why, you… there's no way he'd become the lapdog of you and your father!"

"Our soldiers are hardly lapdogs!" Ayeka replied, "They are the guardians of peace and justice in the Empire, both highly valued and respected! I would give Heero a place of honor within Jurai! What could an outlaw like you possibly offer him when compared to that?"

Ryoko smiled. "That's easy; freedom. For someone like him I bet that'd be quite appealing."

"Princess Ayeka," Azaka chimed in, "This hardly seems proper."

"Quite so," said Kamidake, "You've only just met sir Heero. What would your father or mother say if they saw you behaving like this over a man you're barely acquainted with?"

Ayeka looked down and blushed. "Oh, my… I had not considered that. What has come over me?"

Ryoko could've pounced on such an opening, but she didn't. Truth be told, her mind had gone in a similar direction as Ayeka's; why was she acting this way over a guy she'd just met yesterday?

 _Well_ , she thought, _he's hardly an ordinary guy. He's… interesting…._

She sighed. "Look, Ayeka, I'll argue with you more tomorrow. I told Heero I wouldn't fight you anymore tonight, so I'm just going to get some shuteye."

Ayeka flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, dear! I gave him my word on that! Now look at me… this is shameful!"

Ignoring her, Ryoko got up and went over to a nearby wall where she flicked a light switch. As darkness fell over the room she went back to the couch, grabbed one of the blankets Heero had left them before laying down on her side of the couch. On the other side Ayeka grabbed her blanket and settled in as well, laying on her side with her back to Ryoko.

 _She's lucky I told Heero I wouldn't cause any more trouble tonight_ , Ryoko thought with a smirk, _Any other night and her back would be an impossible target to resist._

Lying on her back, she looked up at the ceiling and smiled. It was hard to believe that a little over twenty-four hours ago she had been flying through this star system in a running fight with Ayeka. Now here she was with her enemy, the two of them settling down for the night in the apartment of the pilot that had interrupted their battle. It was such a strange turn of events, and Ryoko was sure that it wouldn't be the last surprise she'd find on this world.

 _I hope you're ready, Heero_ , she thought, _because if I have anything to say about it, you're going to be in for a wild ride!_

….

 **September 4** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"This is our first stop," said Heero as he parked the car.

Shutting it off and stepping out of the vehicle, the Perfect Soldier patiently waited for his two female companions to join them. A refreshing breeze rustled his thick brown hair, and he was glad that he had worn his dark blue jacket today. When they were out of the vehicle he saw both of them turn towards the large building that they had arrived at.

"What is this place?" asked Ayeka.

"It's a grocery store," said Heero, "I need to stock up on food since you two are staying with me. We'll pick up some toiletries here too. After we're done here we'll drop the food and supplies off at my place and head back out to grab your bed rolls and new clothes."

"All right!" said Ryoko, "Let's go!"

Heero nodded. "Try not to start a fight in there. You two stand out enough as it is"

"No promises!" said Ryoko with a smirk, "Ayeka makes it too much fun."

Ayeka folded her arms. "If you start a fuss, Ryoko, I will make sure you regret it. You got lucky in the orbital battle; I suggest you don't push your fortune."

Heero shook his head. " _No fighting_. Is that clear?"

"Aw, come on, Heero!" said Ryoko as she put her arm around him, "Can't I have a little fun with Ayeka?"

"If by 'fun' you mean 'be an uncivilized brute', you most certainly may not!" said Ayeka as she grabbed Heero's arm, "And just what are you doing, grabbing sir Heero like that?"

Ryoko chuckled. "You tell me, Princes. You're doing the same thing!"

"Yes," said Ayeka as she pulled on Heero's arm, "in order to get him away from a foul outlaw such as yourself!"

"But he doesn't _want_ to be kept away from me!" said Ryoko as she tightened her grip on Heero, "Come on, Heero, you know I'm a lot more fun than this uptight snob could ever be!"

"Why, you…" growled Ayeka.

 _What the hell_ , thought Heero, thoroughly bemused by the situation, _have I gotten myself into?_

He shook the two women off of him. "That's _enough_. Control yourselves or I'll take you both back to the apartment and handle this myself."

Ryoko chuckled. "Come on, Heero, do you really think I'd stay there? I can fly and go through walls, remember? You're going to have to come up with something better than that!"

"Azaka and Kamidake can bind her, sir Heero!" said Ayeka, "Just say the word and upon our return I will have them both restrain her!"

"Hah!" said Ryoko, "I'd like to see you try!"

Heero wouldn't openly admit it, but Ryoko was right. Ayeka's guardians might be able to restrain her, but could he really expect to be able to get her back to the apartment so they could do that? Could he also count on Ayeka to stay put? She acted noble and proper, but the Gundam pilot had caught on to the energy that she was trying to conceal; she was just as feisty as Ryoko.

 _How the hell am I supposed to manage these two?_ , he thought, _I can't believe Sally and Director Une though it was a good idea to put me in charge of them._

The two of them did seem to like him, at least. Maybe there was a way he could use that…

"Listen, you two," he said, "If you cause a commotion in there, you have no idea the kind of hell that my superiors could bring down on us. I could lose observational custody of you and you'd be left to fend for yourselves."

"Wait," said Ayeka, her eyes widening, "you mean that you would be forbidden from sheltering us?"

Heero nodded. "In a nutshell, yes."

"Hey!" said Ryoko, folding her arms, "They can't do that!"

"I'm a member of Preventers," said Heero firmly, "I have to follow the orders I'm given. That's why I took you two in to begin with, and if I'm ordered to cast you both out then I'll have to do that."

Ayeka sighed, and Heero watched carefully as he saw her turn towards Ryoko and hold out her hand.

"Ryoko," she said with a grimace, "I… propose a truce, for the moment. For sir Heero's sake… do you accept?"

 _Her pride must be killing her right about now_ , thought Heero, _Having to make that sort of gesture…_

To his relief he saw Ryoko sigh and accept Ayeka's hand. "Fine, but I'm only doing this for Heero, and only while we're out today. As soon as we're back it's open season, you got that?"

Ayeka smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Ryoko."

Heero nodded. "Okay, let's go."

….

Following Heero inside, Ryoko saw Ayeka's eyes widen in surprise.

"What manner of place is this?" she asked.

Ryoko chuckled. "That's right, since you live in a palace you've never had to go grocery shopping in your life, have you?"

Ayeka quickly collected herself. "Well, given your social status I can't exactly see you as a regular at establishments such as this."

"Hey, I had to get food somewhere," said Ryoko, "and there's this great thing called a disguise, Princess. It really comes in handy for when you really need to buy something with stolen cash."

Ayeka scowled at her. "Yes, I suppose that's a skill someone like you _would_ have a need for."

Ryoko may have been ribbing Ayeka on her luxurious upbringing, but truth be told she was rather surprised by the store Heero had taken them to as well. While she had seen similar places in her travels across the galaxy, this one was considerably larger than those she had visited before.

"Ryoko?" said Heero, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She turned and saw him with a shopping cart. "What's up, Heero?"

"You two should follow me," he said as he moved forward, "It's actually easy to get separated in here."

Ryoko nodded and smiled. "All right, let's grab some food!"

As she followed along a sweet smell hit her nose; it was the scent of sizzling meat. Looking around, Ryoko quickly found the source. It was a table with a portable stove on it, and on the stove was a pan with thin strips of meat.

"Bacon samples here!" said a teenage girl from behind the table, "Come try a sample of our meat department's superb bacon!"

Ryoko licked her lips as she made a beeline for the table. She didn't know what bacon was, but if that smell was any indication she _had_ to have some.

"I'll take some!" she said, practically salivating over the food in front of her.

The girl smiled at her and took a strip and put it on a small paper plate, passing it to Ryoko along with a napkin. "Here you go!"

Ryoko snatched the bacon with no sense of decorum and immediately wolfed it down. Her eyes widened, and she smiled at the taste. The smell had been just a _hint_ of the wonders of this food!

"That's awesome!" she said, "I want more!"

"Sorry, ma'am," said the girl behind the table, "but we only give out one sample per customer."

Ryoko paid her no heed. Using her napkin, she quickly reached forward and grabbed another piece before the girl could react and swiftly chomped it down.

"Ma'am!" cried the girl.

"Really, Ryoko," said Ayeka from behind her, her arms folded, "What has gotten into you?"

"Here," said Ryoko as she tossed another strip of bacon at Ayeka, "You gotta try this!"

"Ma'am, please!" pleaded the girl, "If you want more you need to buy it and cook it yourself!"

Ryoko ignored the girl and watched as Ayeka took a small bite of the bacon. The princess's eyes narrowed for a moment before she swiftly chomped down on the rest of the strip. Ayeka then rushed towards the table.

"This is superb!" she cried, "I must have another at once!"

"One sample per customer!" cried the girl behind the table.

It was to no avail; both Ryoko and Ayeka were snatching every piece they could and chowing down. In what seemed like the blink of an eye there was only one piece left on the pan. The space pirate and the crown princess glared at each other in an unspoken challenge, but before they could fight for the final piece they were both suddenly pulled back by a pair of very strong hands.

"What do you two think you're doing?" said Heero.

His expression was as calm and collected as ever, but Ryoko could tell by the hardness of his eyes that he was not particularly thrilled with her and Ayeka at the moment.

"Aw, come on, Heero!" she said, "The food's so good! I just couldn't help myself!"

"Yes," said Ayeka, giving him an apologetic look, "It… it was quite excellent. I've never had anything like it before. Oh, dear… I don't know what came over me there. I'm so sorry, sir Heero!"

Heero sighed as he let go of the two women. Ryoko watched as he then moved forward and grabbed the last piece of bacon that she and Ayeka had been about to fight over. He ate it and was quiet for a moment before turning to the girl behind the table.

"I apologize for my friends' behavior, miss," he said, "I'm afraid that they're new to this part of the world. To make up for their devouring of all your samples I'd like to purchase two packages of the bacon you're selling here."

The girl nodded and smiled at him before gesturing towards a nearby refrigerated shelf. "It's right over there, sir."

"Thank you," said Heero before grabbing two packs and placing them in the shopping cart.

He then turned to Ryoko and Ayeka. "Are you two going to be like this at every sample table?"

Ryoko sighed. "All right, I'll keep it together."

Ayeka nodded. "As will I. You will have no trouble from me, I assure you."

Heero nodded. "Good. I'd rather this store didn't ban me thanks to the two of you. Let's grab what we need before they decide to do that."

Ryoko and Ayeka both fell in behind Heero as he made his way through the myriad of aisles, periodically pulling a small piece of paper out of his pocket and consulting it before grabbing some item or another off a shelf. Having seen her fair share of the galaxy in her travels as an outlaw Ryoko had naturally encountered a wide variety of foods, but she was still greatly interested in what Heero was stocking up on. Meats, fruits, vegetables, bread, snacks... it was quite a diverse assortment.

 _It looks like I'll be eating pretty well during my stay here_ , she thought, _I hope Heero's a good cook. He did a nice job with that pizza last night at least._

It wasn't just food that Heero was stocking up on. After a while they reached an aisle that seemed to be devoted to personal hygiene. Ryoko watched as the young man picked up toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, hairbrushes, and other items and piled them into the cart along with the food. Ryoko had been expecting Ayeka to complain that the items Heero was grabbing were not worthy of royalty, but much to her surprise she didn't fuss at all about it. On the contrary, she seemed quite thankful for it.

"We're almost done here," said Heero as they left that section of the store, "There's just a few more things I want to grab."

Ryoko and Ayeka followed their steward as he led them back through the store. The space pirate smiled as she soon saw shelves, both refrigerated and not, with rows of bottles and cans. She may have been unfamiliar with this planet and what it had to offer, but she knew booze when she saw it.

"Sweet!" she said, "Now you're talking, Heero!"

"My, my," said Ayeka as she looked around, "They have quite a selection here."

Heero nodded but didn't say anything. Instead he browsed the shelves, apparently looking for a particular bottle.

Glancing off towards the end of the aisle, Ryoko's smile grew as she saw another sample table set up. "I'll be right back."

"Just where do you think you're going?" said Ayeka.

"To have some fun!" said Ryoko as she hurried over to the table.

"Now hold on a moment!" cried Ayeka as she ran after her.

The two women arrived at the table, and Ryoko's eyes lit up at what the young man behind it was offering. Arrayed out on the table were several cups filled with red wine.

"Hey there," said Ryoko, batting her eyelashes at the boy behind the table, "Mind if I take a sip?"

The young man blushed under her gaze and nodded. "Sure, go ahead!"

Wine was supposed to be sipped slowly, but Ryoko wasn't one for refined drinking; she pounded her beverage back like a shot glass. She closed her eyes and sighed as she felt it course through her; it was _very_ good.

"Mmmm," she said, "I could drink this all day…"

"You most certainly will not!" said Ayeka as she grabbed a glass, "After all I've endured over these past few days I believe that _I_ deserve such refreshment far more than _you_."

Ryoko scowled at her, but that soon became a smirk as she saw Ayeka begin drinking the wine. The princess's face soon became red, and Ryoko could tell that the royal was definitely a lightweight.

"Oh, my…" said Ayeka, looking a little shaky as she took another sip, "This is… quite good…"

"What's the matter, princess?" said Ryoko, "Too strong for you?"

Ayeka glared at Ryoko. "Ha! As if!"

Ryoko watched as the princess quickly downed the rest of her glass. The red in her face became darker, and Ryoko had the satisfaction of seeing Ayeka become noticeably unsteady on her feet.

"Called it!" she said with a grin, "You're about to fall on your ass, Ayeka!"

Ayeka emphatically shook her head. "I'll have you know that I'm just fine, you loathsome cur! Why, I think I'll have another! Try and match me if you dare!"

Ryoko chuckled. "Princess, please. There's no way you can beat me in a drinking contest!"

"We'll soon find out!" snapped Ayeka as she reached for a glass.

"Bring it on!" said Ryoko as she moved for a cup as well.

"Hey!" said the young man behind the table, "You can only have one each!"

"I thought you two told me that you would keep it together," said a familiar male voice from behind them.

Both women jumped and turned around to see Heero standing behind them, his arms folded as he looked at them.

"Well?" he said expectantly.

Ryoko sighed and put her glass back on the table. "Oh, all right… but only because it's you, Heero."

"Yes," said Ayeka as she set her cup down as well, "I do apologize, sir Heero."

The young pilot nodded, and Ryoko's eyes lit up as she saw a few bottles in the cart, including the same kind of wine she and Ayeka had just been drinking. She wondered if this was happy coincidence or if he had deliberately picked that one out after she and Ayeka had run off to the sample table.

"Well, now," said Ryoko, smiling at Heero, "Are you stocking up for a party, Heero?"

Heero shrugged. "I might open up a bottle later."

"Playing host to you, I'm sure he needs it," Ayeka muttered at Ryoko.

Ryoko glared at her. "Hey, it sounds like you're saying that I'm bad company!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Ayeka snapped at her.

Ryoko went over to Heero and put her arm around him. "Aw, Heero, you don't think that about me, do you?"

"At this point," said Heero as he shook her off, "I don't know what to think about either of you. Come on, we need to pay for all this and head out."

Ryoko and Ayeka glared at each other behind his back for a moment before following him towards the front of the store. Along the way Ryoko found herself thinking about what Ayeka had just said, along with Heero's reaction to it.

 _He doesn't really think I'm a problem… does he?_

She found that the notion actually kind of hurt. Ryoko may have wanted to have a good time, and she certainly didn't mind doing so on Heero's dime, but she didn't want him to be upset with her. If anything, she wanted him to join her in her fun.

"Hey, Heero," she said, sidling up next to him, "Why don't we open up one of those bottles later tonight, huh? We can just kick back on the couch, have a drink, and relax. Hell, I'm fine if Ayeka joins in too."

Her host turned to her, and while he seemed as calm and collected as ever Ryoko could tell that he was actually thinking about her suggestion. "Perhaps…"

Ayeka seemed taken aback by Ryoko's inclusion of her. "What are you playing at?"

Ryoko shook her head. "No games this time, I promise. We'll just hang out and share a bottle. I've got nothing up my sleeves this time, Ayeka."

Ayeka slowly nodded. "Well… it does sound rather nice. Sir Heero, what say you?"

After a moment their host nodded. "Yes, it does. I'll consider it… if you two behave yourselves."

Ryoko gave him a playful smile. "Well, I can't really make any promises there… but I'll try, Heero."

"You have my solemn word, sir Heero," said Ayeka with a smile, "there will be no more trouble from me."

"All right," said Heero, "Let's get all this paid for and take it home. After that we're going back out. There are a few more places I want to take you both to."

….

As she stepped out of the car, Ayeka's eyes widened in amazement. "My goodness! Where have you taken us now?"

The building in front of them appeared to be only two stories tall at the most, but what it lacked in height it made up for in area. It was quite wide, and the parking lot surrounding it was like a large field of concrete full of cars. Unlike the grocery store Heero had taken her and Ryoko to earlier there was no single identifying sign or logo on the front. Rather there appeared to be several different ones over the various entrances of the building.

Ryoko folded her arms. "Seriously, Ayeka? You've never seen a mall before? Man, you really are sheltered."

Ayeka glared at her. "I most certainly am not, Ryoko! For your information I've heard of these 'malls', I've just never been to one myself!"

"Will this be a problem?" asked Heero as he exited the vehicle and locked it.

Ayeka quickly turned to him and shook her head. "Oh, no, not at all, sir Heero! I'm just unfamiliar with an establishment such as this."

Heero nodded. "I understand. This place can be a little disoriented for newcomers. I want both of you to stay with me so you don't get lost. Is that understood?"

Ayeka nodded and smiled, encouraged that she had such a man to serve as her guide. "Quite so, sir Heero. I'm grateful for your assistance."

"All right," said Ryoko with a smirk, "Besides, why would I wander off? I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun here with _you_ , Heero."

Once again Ayeka's heartbeat increased at the pirate's flirtatious tone. She didn't know why she kept getting so flustered when it happened. As a crown princess she was supposed to be above this, wasn't she? Nevertheless she just couldn't help herself.

"Oh, you have no sense of propriety, you tramp!" she huffed as she took Heero by the left arm, "Sir Heero can enjoy himself quite well without you pulling him into the gutter!"

Ryoko retaliated by grabbing Heero's left arm and pressing up tightly against him. "Come on, Heero, don't listen to her. She's so uptight she wouldn't know a good time if it kicked her in the ass! I, on the other hand, can show you how to _really_ loosen up! Come on, let's ditch this royal brat, what do you say?"

Once again Heero shook the two of them off before folding his arms and giving them a firm stare. "That's enough. It's my responsibility to look after both of you, and I'm going to do that. If you two keep this up then we're not going to share that bottle tonight."

"Aw, Heero!" Ryoko pouted, "Don't be like that!"

Ayeka's eyes widened. "Really, sir Heero, there's no call for that! Please share a drink with me tonight!"

"I told you two back at the grocery store," said Heero, "that I would share that bottle with you both only if you behaved yourselves. Are you ready to start doing that?"

Ryoko sighed. "Oh, all right, Heero."

Ayeka bowed her head. "Of course, sir Heero. I apologize for my conduct."

Heero nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Ayeka and Ryoko both followed Heero through the parking lot and towards the building. As they walked Ayeka could feel her stomach rumbling. They'd stopped by Heero's apartment earlier to drop off all the food they had purchased at the grocery store, but then they'd gone right back out without stopping to eat.

"Uhm, sir Heero?" she said, "I don't mean to impose any further burden on you, but… would this mall happen to have a place to eat?"

"Yeah," said Ryoko, "I'm getting kinda hungry myself."

To her relief Heero simply nodded. "There's a food court just through this entrance. We can grab something there."

Ayeka was puzzled. "What's a food court?"

"You'll see," Heero replied.

Ayeka simply nodded, content to follow her host until she had her answer. She furtively studied him as they headed towards the entrance.

He was unlike anyone that Ayeka had ever met in the Empire. As crown princess she had naturally met her share of soldiers, guardsmen, and knights, so Heero's disciplined nature wasn't exactly alien to her, but even then she was still struck by how calm and stoic he remained regardless of what life seemed to throw at him. He was very reserved, and while he had given her some information during yesterday's interviews Ayeka was keenly aware of just how little she truly knew about the young man in front of her.

His demeanor could be cold at times, but he'd treated both her and Ryoko with courtesy. While he may have been reluctant to accept the orders from his superiors to shelter them that did not change the fact that Heero had ultimately followed those instructions and was now doing everything he could to help them settle in. Ayeka had been concerned over how he might treat her in light of the fact that she had shot him down, but to her relief he did not seem to be holding a grudge. He was acting like a soldier and a gentleman, and while he was a rather withdrawn man he was not a cruel one. In fact, his actions towards her and Ryoko struck Ayeka as quite compassionate and understanding given the circumstances.

He was a skilled pilot, a dutiful soldier, a respectful and courteous host…

… and he was quite handsome.

Ayeka felt herself blushing as she continued to stare at the young man in front of her, praying that he would not turn around. A glance to the side revealed Ryoko looking at their host as well, a smile on her face that to Ayeka did not bode well.

 _What has gotten into me?_ , she thought, _Ever since I crashed on this planet, ever since meeting sir Heero, I have not been myself… and why do I keep referring to him by a title reserved for one of knighthood?_

She supposed part of it had to do with the way he conducted himself. There was a noble bearing about him that she could not deny. From what little she knew about his role in the organization he'd called Preventers, his position appeared to be somewhere between that of foot soldier and commander. The woman called Sally had referred to him as an agent, but Ayeka's only experience with men and women holding that title was of the Jurai Imperial Intelligence Bureau. Her encounters with those agents had been quite rare, but the impressions that they had left had hardly been the same as what she had gotten from Heero. There was an almost devious aura to JIIB agents, along with some degree smugness, as though they took great pleasure in being privy to secrets and knowledge that others were not. Ayeka found none of that in Heero. He seemed confident, but not arrogant, a man who knew his skills and knowledge were exceptional but did not let it go to his head. His duty was one of protection, and as he was currently assigned to protect and watch over her Ayeka supposed that 'knight' fit him quite well under the circumstances.

If pressed, though, she could not deny that calling him 'sir Heero' was also a mild form of flattery on her part. Her respect was real, but it was also tinged with the desire to make herself stand out from Ryoko and to be more worthy of his attention. The outlaw could play the temptress all she wanted; Ayeka would win Heero's favor by demonstrating the nobility and refinement of Jurai's crown princess.

She felt her face warm again. Win his favor? She was acting like some maiden in a fantasy story over a young man she had only just met! This was not the behavior expected of a woman of her position. She could only imagine the ridicule she'd face from her family if they could see her know, although Sasami would at least support her. Ayeka's conduct was absolutely embarrassing!

And yet she could not help herself.

Following Heero and Ryoko into the mall, Ayeka was distracted from her thoughts by the sight that greeted her.

"What is this?" she asked, her eyes widening.

They had come into a large concourse of some kind. There were two long and wide corridors, one to the left and one to the right, and as she glanced down them Ayeka could see that they were lined with shops. However, it was the area that they had just entered that had really taken Ayeka back. Apart from where the corridors began, every wall seemed to have some sort of food vendor working out of it. A variety of smells hit Ayeka's nose. One establishment was serving the food called 'pizza' that Heero had given her and Ryoko the night before, while the others served different foods. There was a place that had what looked like fried chicken, another that served meats, cheese, and vegetables wrapped up in what looked to be flour shells of some kind, at least two cafes, an establishment that was offering meat and vegetables between two slices of bread, an outlet offering rice and seafood, one selling what looked to be dough knotted into strange shapes and sprinkled with salt… and so much more. In the center of the concourse was a broad expanse devoted to tables, and it was teeming with people.

To her right she saw Ryoko grin. "All right! Jackpot!"

Ayeka turned to Heero. "Sir Heero, I take it that this is the…'food court' that you spoke of?"

Heero nodded and lead the way in. "Come on. If you see something you want to try, just ask."

"Don't mind if I do!" said Ryoko, looking like she might just devour everything the vendors were offering.

 _Really_ , thought Ayeka with disdain, _she could at least show a modicum of restraint!_

However, at the same time Ayeka could not deny feeling a ravenous desire coming on as she toured the various establishments with her companions. There was so much on display, so many different things to choose from, that it was tempting to just try a bite of everything.

"This is really quite impressive!" she said, "I never imagined this place would have such a wide variety of food."

"Brussels is the capital city of the ESUN," said Heero, "All roads lead here, as they say, and as such the city is a global hub of trade, finance, diplomacy, and culture. Whether it's from Earth or the colonies, if there's something you want, you can find it in Brussels. This mall was actually just completed and opened last year, and from what I understand it's been doing steady business ever since. They've got food from all over the world in here."

"Fascinating," said Ayeka, "It reminds me a bit of my homeworld; as the capital of the Empire, planet Jurai is a great nexus of commerce. However, our customs regulations are rather… stringent. Your Brussels seems far more open by comparison, although as I've only seen a very small part of the city I can't say that for certain."

"You're not wrong," Heero replied, "This is an open city; people can come and go as they please. That being said, as the global capital Brussels naturally has a strong security presence."

Ayeka nodded; she had noticed several police officers on various corners during the drive to the mall. However, from the glimpses she had gotten they'd seemed friendly enough, and people had been moving about with such freedom. The city seemed to be a very vibrant place, and its peacekeepers looked to be relaxed and at ease in their interactions with the community from what she had observed. It was a marked contrast to Jurai; at times Ayeka had found the capital's public law enforcement officers to be rather intimidating and aloof, although their commitment to protecting and serving the people was not in doubt.

"How many people live in this city?" she asked.

The young man looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "The main urban area has about three million residents, but when you add in the broader metropolitan area it then jumps to around seven million. Brussels doesn't have the highest population in the Earth Sphere, but as the capital it is dominant."

"I see," said Ayeka, "That's yet another similarity it shares with my homeworld. Planet Jurai is actually not the most populous world in the Empire; there are actually several planets in the realm that boast higher populations. However, Jurai is the cultural, trade, and political heart of the monarchy. The Empire is named for it, after all."

"This is fascinating and all," Ryoko deadpanned, "but could we save the social studies lesson until _after_ we grab a bite to eat?"

Ayeka glowered at her, but before she could formulate a sufficiently biting reply the fight was stolen from her by the grumbling of her stomach.

She was forced to concede for this round. "Yes, I suppose a meal is in order. Sir Heero, do you have any suggestions as to what we should eat?"

Heero shrugged. "Just look around. When you find something you want, just let me know."

Ayeka was going to press him further but the way he simply turned around and began browsing the various vendors told her that she would get no more out of him than that.

 _Well_ , she thought, _I suppose I should start looking around. I wonder if they have anything similar to Jurai cuisine..._

It took about ten minutes until Ayeka found what she was looking for. It was a vendor called 'Musashi's Teriyaki'. On the menu up on the wall Ayeka could see dishes that looked surprisingly Juraian; a mixture of rice, meats, and vegetables.

She smiled and looked around until she found Heero before jumping up and down and raising her hand to get his attention. "Sir Heero, sir Heero! Could you please come over here?"

As he approached with Ryoko in tow she saw that the two of them had already loaded up on food. On his tray Heero had what looked like a flour wrapping with meat and cheese stuffed into it, while Ryoko had a thick slice of meat between two pieces of bread along with a container full of many small, yellow stick-like things. Both also had paper cups that Ayeka assumed contained their beverages.

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I thought it would take you all day to figure out what you wanted."

"Do you know what you'd like to eat?" asked Heero as he put his tray down on the nearby counter.

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. Could you please purchase me an order of rice and chicken? Oh, and also a bottle of juice!"

Heero nodded and pulled out his wallet before relaying her order to the young man behind the counter. A few minutes later Ayeka was dished up and her meal paid for. She and Ryoko then followed Heero over to the central part of the food court where they all sat down around a table.

"All right, time to dig in!" said Ryoko with a smile, "Thanks, Heero!"

Ayeka nodded. "Indeed. Thank you very much, sir Heero."

"Don't mention it," he replied as he took a sip of his drink.

The princess studied her companions' food. "What did you two get?"

"Heero said this thing's called a burger," said Ryoko as she held up her food, licking her lips in anticipation, "and those little things in the box are fries."

"I see," said Ayeka, "Sir Heero, what about yours?"

"It's a beef burrito," he replied, "It comes from a continent far to the west of this one, across the Atlantic Ocean."

Ayeka smiled. "It looks good. I'll have to try it next time."

Grabbing her chopsticks, Ayeka picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite. She smiled at the taste; it was quite good, and it reminded her of meals she had eaten back on her homeworld. Even the chopsticks were similar too, and she wondered how two completely different worlds had still developed similar eating utensils.

By contrast, both Heero and Ryoko's meals appeared to be finger food. They both seemed to be enjoying them, though of course the former was eating with more reserve than the latter.

"This is great!" said Ryoko in between bites, "So good!"

Ayeka nodded as she savored her food. "Quite so. Sir Heero, where does this food come from?"

"An island region in the Far East," Heero replied.

As she continued to eat Ayeka became aware of several pairs of eyes watching their table. Looking around she saw several nearby people staring at the three of them, or more specifically her and Ryoko.

The space pirate had apparently noticed the attention as well. "What's up with these people? It's like they've never seen a woman eat before."

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka nervously, "are we doing something wrong? Why are people staring at us?"

"I imagine it's because of your clothes," Heero replied calmly, "You both stand out around here."

Ayeka blushed, suddenly quite keenly aware of how outlandish she appeared dressed in her royal kimono when compared to the people that surrounded her. Ryoko's tunic and leggings had an exotic look as well and were drawing more than a few stares, but Ayeka was sure that she was getting more attention than the pirate.

"Oh, dear," she said, "This is all I have to wear!"

"Hey, I'm in the same boat, princess," said Ryoko, "I'm okay with people admiring me when I want them to, but I got to admit this is getting kind of annoying."

"Don't worry," said Heero, "As soon as we're done here the first place we're going is a clothing store. I'll buy you each a few outfits so you'll fit in better around here."

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Thank you very much, sir Heero."

Ryoko smiled as well, although Ayeka thought she detected a mischievous look in her eyes. "I'm looking forward to it, Heero."

 _That fiendish woman_ , thought Ayeka, _Just what is she planning now?_

If Heero had noticed what Ayeka had, he gave no sign of it. Her young host continued to eat, occasionally scanning the crowd around them or giving Ayeka and Ryoko brief, mysterious glances, but other than that he seemed content to continue his meal in peace.

Ayeka didn't know what was going through Ryoko's mind, but she realized that she too was looking forward to going to whatever clothing store Heero had in mind after their meal. She was so used to tailors from the royal palace providing her wardrobe; it would be an interesting experience to try on outfits at a vendor like commoners did. Earth fashions were a curious thing to her, and she wondered what she would look like in the attire that the locals wore.

She found herself smiling as she continued her meal. She'd already experienced several new things since coming to this planet, and she was eagerly anticipating the next strange and wondrous event it would throw her way…

…especially with such a handsome escort guiding her path.

….

Leaning back in the chair, Heero mentally sighed.

 _I really didn't think this through…_

He was back by the store's changing section, while Ryoko and Ayeka occupied separate stalls. They'd entered the store about an hour ago, and his two lovely alien companions had spent most of it browsing outfits before grabbing several of them and dragging Heero with them back to where he was now.

Taking a woman out shopping for clothes, let alone two of them, was a completely new experience for him. The Perfect Soldier had been caught completely off guard by the enthusiasm both women had displayed when they had entered the store. Neither of them may have been native to Earth, but it was clear they didn't need his help in picking out clothing; they both seemed to know instinctively what their respective sizes were despite being unfamiliar with the units of measurement used in the ESUN. Occasionally both ladies would look back at him as they were picking out what to try on, their eyes going from him to the clothes and back again, though for what purpose Heero couldn't say. They seemed to be evaluating him for something, though Heero had no idea what they were looking for. He was way out of his element here, and while he had been their guide up to this point now he just felt like he was along for the ride.

 _There goes last month's bonus_ , he thought, _It's a good thing Preventers pays me a considerable salary or I'd be in real trouble here. Still, I'd better not let them go overboard with this…_

Still, the Gundam pilot was at a loss for how he might hold them both back. They were both so energetic and excited, snatching up outfits with gleeful abandon. It was so strange to him…

…but not in a bad way.

Truth be told, Heero was curious to see just where things would go from here. From the looks Ryoko and Ayeka had been sending his way while picking out clothes off the shelves and from the racks it was clear that they both had something special in mind. Whatever it was, the Preventers operative supposed he would just have to wait and see.

"Heero!" called Ryoko from her stall, "Are you still out there?"

"Yes," Heero replied, "Do you need something?"

"Only for you to stay right where you are, handsome," said Ryoko, her voice sounding more than a little devious, "You're in for a treat!"

Concerned, Heero turned towards the other stall. "Ayeka? Are you all right?"

"Quite so, sir Heero!" she replied cheerfully, "Please stay where you are! I would very much appreciate it!"

The Perfect Soldier hadn't exactly planned on barging in on either of the two ladies, and from the way they were talking they seemed to be aware of that. Rather, they apparently just didn't want him going anywhere, period.

 _Fine_ , he thought, _I can play along…_

He waited for another minute before both doors opened. Heero was a man renowned for keeping his composure under almost any circumstance, and to his credit he managed to keep it here too… but he had to work at it when he saw the two women step out in front of him.

"What do you think?" they said in unison.

 _Where to start…_

They were like night and day. Ayeka wore a white sundress that swished and flowed with her every move and fell to her knees. It was elegant yet modest, and while the straps were thick there was still a good view of her pale, bare shoulders. By contrast, Ryoko's dress was black as midnight, with considerably thinner straps and a higher hem. It clung tightly to her body and showed significantly more skin than Ayeka's dress, including a very tempting view of her cleavage.

They both struck poses for him, with Ayeka clasping both hands behind her back while Ryoko put one hand on her hip and the other behind her head. Both women were waiting for his judgment, and Heero felt very much put on the spot. The last thing he wanted to do was play favorites here…

… and they were both _very_ beautiful.

Ayeka was a picture of refined yet casual elegance and grace. Ryoko was an image of wild energy and whispered pleasures. A princess and a pirate, a noble and demure court lady and a willful, seductive outlaw… both certainly had their appeal. However, Heero was barely aware of his gaze subconsciously lingering a little longer on Ryoko…

"Heero?" said Ryoko with a smirk, "What's the matter? Too much woman for you?"

"Sir Heero?" said Ayeka, sounding both nervous and expectant.

After a moment Heero managed a nod. "You both… look very lovely."

It was certainly true, but it almost felt like hollow praise to him. Lovely was a severe understatement; they were both _beautiful_.

Ryoko smiled. "Aw, now aren't you sweet! Strong, handsome, and appreciative… I could really get used to being around a guy like you, Heero."

Ayeka bowed and smiled. "Thank you very much, sir Heero!"

"You're welcome," he replied, not sure what else to say.

"Don't go anywhere," said Ryoko with a grin, "The show's just getting started!"

Indeed it was. For the next round it was just casual clothes for the both of them, but they still looked great regardless. Both wore jeans, but while Ayeka had gone with a light blue blouse Ryoko had decided on a red tank-top that once again gave a tantalizing view of her cleavage and also exposed a good portion of her midriff. Once again the two women had chose outfits that were in direct opposition to each other, displaying both their clashes in personality and upbringing.

It went on for over an hour, each of them going back into their respective stalls and coming out with a new outfit for Heero's viewing pleasure. Each time the two women seemed to pick clothing that highlighted the contrasts between them, a clash of fashion that threatened to get as fierce as their clash in personalities. The Perfect Soldier refused to publicly favor one over the other, but he could not help but let his gaze linger just a tiny bit longer on Ryoko each time she came out of her stall.

Eventually Heero decided that enough was enough. What followed was a rather tense ten minutes of him trying to convince the two women to pick some clothes to leave at the store versus what he would buy for them. It was difficult, but with considerable effort Heero managed to bring them down to what he considered to be a manageable amount… and one that would not do too much damage to his bank account.

Before leaving the store his two companions had returned to the changing stalls to each put on one of the new outfits they had tried on earlier, the better to blend into their new environment. Both had decided on one of the casual outfits they had tried on earlier, with Ryoko wearing shorts and a black t-shirt while Ayeka had on a white blouse and a blue skirt.

"Oh, man," said Ryoko as they walked out of the store laden with bags, "That was fun!"

Ayeka nodded. "Indeed. Thank you, sir Heero!"

"Yeah," said Ryoko, turning to him and smiling, "Thanks a lot. I owe you one."

The Gundam pilot noticed that she wasn't flirting this time; her gratitude really did seem to be sincere.

Heero nodded. "You're welcome. I trust those will be enough to last you both for a while?"

"Quite so," said Ayeka.

"I'll be fine," Ryoko replied, "So, what's next?"

"To another store to get you two bedrolls, blankets, and pillows," said Heero, "After that it's back to the apartment."

"Aw, already?" Ryoko pouted, "Come on, we don't have to go back so quickly, do we? I want to see more of the city, Heero! I don't even need a bedroll, either; I'm fine just crashing on your couch."

"Must we really return to your residence so soon?" asked Ayeka, trying to sound more dignified than Ryoko while making the same request, "There's no real rush, is there? If you would be so kind as to grant this favor, sir Heero, I would greatly appreciate it if you would show me more of your city!"

The Gundam pilot's resolve was legendary, and yet for some reason he could not identify Heero found it wavering now. It was a nice day outside, after all, and now that he thought about it this was really the first day off he'd had in a long time. The clothes and the other items they'd be buying here weren't like the food; there was no need to rush home and get them into a fridge or anything like that. What harm was there in taking it slow today and showing Ryoko and Ayeka around Brussels a bit? It wouldn't have to be a full-tour; just a few places they might find interesting.

Heero nodded. "Very well. I suppose we can stay out for a little longer today."

"Nice!" said Ryoko with a grin, "You're the best, Heero!"

Ayeka bowed and smiled. "Oh, sir Heero, thank you so much! I promise you won't regret it!"

He hoped she was right, although the way the two women had been behaving in the grocery store before was cause for concern. Still, they'd been doing better since they'd come to the mall. All Heero could do was wait and see.

"All right," he said as they headed towards next store, "After this we'll head out. I think I know somewhere you two would enjoy."

….

Stepping out of the car, a refreshing afternoon breeze blowing through her hair, Ryoko smiled as she saw where Heero had taken her and Ayeka.

"This is nice," she said, "Looks like there's plenty to do here."

"Yes," said Ayeka, "It's hard to tell where to start."

The location was a large park located in the western-central part of Brussels. It was a wide open area, with open grass fields, trails winding around under the shade of trees, and several ponds and streams running through it. There were also paved areas where sports could be played and events could be held. In the middle of the park there were many large stands set up in what Ryoko recognized as an outdoor market.

Heero nodded as he locked the car. "Every weekend this market opens up out here. It's not like that mall we were at earlier; what's sold out here is usually made by individuals and small businesses. A lot of it is food, but there are still unique items that are hard to find anywhere else."

Ryoko could see all of that and more besides. In addition to the market stalls it looked like an outdoor concert was in progress in one part of the park, while the largest pond was playing host to a remote control boat race. The fields were teeming with people flying kites and throwing Frisbees or kicking balls around, while others seemed content to lay back and enjoy the sun. Many people were walking the trails, some jogging or running while others moved at a more leisurely pace with friends, family, and even pets.

"It seems quite crowded today," said Ayeka, "Does this outdoor market always attract such large numbers?"

"It's popular," Heero replied, "but I think the real reason there are so many people out here today is because they know that summer is coming to an end and they want to enjoy the nice days like this that are left. Brussels experiences an oceanic climate, and there are typically nearly two-hundred days of rain per year. Sunny days like this, especially on weekends, do not go to waste in this city."

This wasn't Ryoko's usual environment. The space pirate was more at home at a bar, a club, or a party of some kind when she wanted to cut loose. Still, it had a very relaxing feel to it, and after the events of the past two days she could definitely use a change of pace.

 _Besides_ , she thought with a mischievous smirk, _since I'm here with Heero, I'm sure I'll have some fun!_

"Come on," said Heero, "We'll start with the outdoor market."

"Sounds good to me!" said Ryoko as she looped her arm through Heero's, "Are you gonna buy me something special, handsome?"

"Now just a minute!" said Ayeka as she grabbed Heero's other arm, "Just what the devil are you trying to do, you lowlife wench?"

"Aw, now why do you got to be like that, Ayeka?" Ryoko pouted, leaning in to Heero and making sure that her bosom was rubbing against his arm, "Come on, Heero, we don't need Ayeka tagging along here when she's just going to ruin our fun! Let's just ditch her here and go have some _real_ fun!"

"Not a chance in hell!" snarled Ayeka as she pulled harder on Heero's other arm, "Sir Heero, you needn't put up with this vulgar scoundrel!"

"Name calling again!" said Ryoko, feigning hurt, "That's all she's good for, Heero! For a princess she doesn't have any manners! She's so _mean_. You don't need that in your life, isn't that right, Heero?"

"If you two keep this up," said Heero as he shook the two of them off, "I'll take you both back to the apartment. Do you want to spend some time out here today or not?"

Ayeka quickly bowed her head. "Of course, sir Heero! I'm so sorry!"

Ryoko sighed. "All right, Heero. I was just teasing anyway, you know?"

Heero nodded. "I'm sure you were. Try to keep the bickering to a minimal while we're here… and don't take anything from the vendors without paying for it. They don't usually do free samples here."

"We can't pay for anything," said Ryoko, "You didn't give Ayeka and me any money!"

"Ask me if you want something," Heero replied calmly, "If it's not unreasonable I just might buy it for you."

"What counts as unreasonable?" asked Ryoko.

"I'll be the judge of that," he said as he started walking away from the car.

Not knowing what else to do, Ryoko and Ayeka moved to join him. Ryoko felt strange as they made their way towards the outdoor market. As a galactic criminal the sorts of places she tended to frequent weren't quite as family friendly as the Brussels park was. She wasn't used to seeing so many children around her that weren't beggars, thieves, or lookouts for gangs. It was such an open and peaceful environment. Sure, there were police officers at various points around the park, but they were so relaxed that they didn't feel threatening at all.

In the end she just shrugged and decided to go with the flow. The place was pretty if nothing else, and it was alive with activity. So what if it wasn't her usual environment? She was on a planet she'd never been to before; it wasn't supposed to be familiar territory. As long as she got to see it with her handsome and enigmatic caretaker Ryoko was sure that she'd find some way to enjoy herself.

It wasn't long before Ryoko realized that, just like at the mall, the three of them were drawing attention. At first it felt odd to her since Heero had bought her and Ayeka new clothes specifically so they'd avoid drawing unwanted attention. After a few seconds though Ryoko realized that this was a different sort of attention. Young men and women alike were looking at the three of them, their gazes varying from approving and attraction to jealousy.

 _I guess it's no surprise_ , she thought with a smirk, _Heero's a real cutie, and here he is with me at his side… and Ayeka too, I guess. A hot guy with two women as his dates out here? Of course we're going to draw attention._

She was a bit caught off guard at part of that thought, though. Did she really think of herself as Heero's date? Ryoko would like to think that if she was, she'd have him all to herself. Her smirk turned into a scowl as she shot Ayeka a covert glare. Why did that royal brat have to try to ruin everything? From the moment they'd met all those years ago the Juraian crown princess had been nothing but a thorn in Ryoko's side, though the pirate was at least willing to admit that the feeling was definitely mutual as far as Ayeka was concerned. After all, in what universe did a space pirate and an imperial princess ever get along in? It was a miracle that they hadn't tried to kill each other yet today.

As they got closer to the market the smells of fresh produce hit Ryoko's nostrils, along with many others. There were stalls offering assorted nuts, various breads, fruit juices, and other food and drink. Several vendors were also offering various kinds of flowers and other plants. Ryoko couldn't help but smile as she took it all in. Sure, it wasn't a black market bazaar with stolen and illegal goods from half the galaxy like she was used to, but it was still interesting and exciting in its own way.

Eventually she found a table with scores of small, clear containers on it, each filled with a different color fluid and topped with a spray cap. Ryoko smiled; this may have been a new planet, but she was pretty sure she knew a perfume vendor when she saw one. It had been quite a long time since she'd truly indulged her feminine side like she had back at the clothing shop, so she decided to check it out.

The young woman behind the table smiled as Ryoko approached. "Welcome, miss! Do you see something you like?"

"Well," said Ryoko, her brow furrowed in thought, "I'm not really sure where to start."

"That's okay," the woman replied, "I do sample sprays if you're not familiar with my products. Pick one and I'll let you try it out!"

Ryoko grinned. "All right!"

Scanning the table, she picked out a random bottle. "That one."

The woman nodded and grabbed the small bottle in question. She held it up and motioned for Ryoko to hold out her hand. Ryoko did so and the woman gave the bottle a small spray.

"Take a sniff," said the young woman, "Tell me what you think!"

Holding her hand up, Ryoko inhaled the scent and smiled. "Mm, that's nice… what is it?"

"White plum blossom," she replied, "It's from the Far East. It's one of the harder ones for me to get, but it's completely worth it."

Ryoko nodded and turned around to wave down Heero. "Heero, can you come over here, please?"

The young man had only been a few tables away with Ayeka, and the Jurai princess shot Ryoko a glare as Heero came over to her. "What is it, Ryoko?"

"Oh," said the woman behind the table, "Is this your boyfriend, miss? He's pretty cute!"

"Her _boyfriend?_ Now wait just a minute there!" cried Ayeka, quickly rushing over to get in on the action.

Ryoko ignored her and held up her hand. "Smell this and tell me what you think. Please?"

Heero looked at her for a moment, his expression as inscrutable as ever, and Ryoko was worried that he might refuse her request. However, he eventually did lean in and take a deep breath.

"Well?" said Ryoko expectantly.

After a moment Heero nodded. "It's… very good."

Ryoko smiled, taking what she could get from her rather withdrawn host. "Do you mind buying this for me?"

Heero nodded. As he pulled out his wallet Ryoko shot Ayeka a triumphant smirk.

 _Score one for me! Let's see what you've got up your sleeve, Ayeka!_

"Sir Heero!" said Ayeka, "Surely you would not mind if I sampled one of these perfumes as well, would you? I would greatly appreciate your judgment."

Ryoko continued to smirk. If the best Ayeka could do here was copy her, then Ryoko had a leg up in their little game of earning Heero's favor. The initiative was hers, and Ryoko planned to make the most of it. Ryoko watched as Ayeka imitated her earlier actions, and while Heero dutifully indulged her request to smell the perfume she had tried out he didn't seem to favor hers over Ryoko's. Of course, it was hard to tell what the young man thought about much of anything, but Ryoko was still happy with how things were going so far.

After the perfume stall they continued to wander among the vendors for awhile. There was so much to see that it felt a little overwhelming to Ryoko. She wanted to try so many things, but much to her surprise she actually found herself holding back. Restraint was not something she was known for, but Ryoko realized that she was willing to try just that if it helped her get closer to her mysterious new guardian.

What kind of man was he, really? What made him tick? What did he like or not like? What was the real nature of his work? Why didn't he express himself more? What was he looking for in a woman?

She'd known him for barely two days, and already that last question was by far the most important to Ryoko. Heero seemed to be quite guarded with his feelings, which was not something Ryoko was used to in men she encountered. Usually she could just ply her charms and have them wrapped around her finger all too quickly, but Heero was really making her work at it. It was definitely a new experience for Ryoko, but it was one that she found that she was quite enjoying. If nothing else, Heero was _interesting_ , and despite his calm and reserved nature Ryoko had quickly discovered that she was having fun just trying to figure him out.

They soon found that it wasn't just market stalls that were set up in this part of the park. Eventually they came to a row of stands that appeared to be hosting a variety of games.

"Well," she said with a grin, "these look fun!"

"Why are all these here?" asked Ayeka, "Is there some sort of holiday or festival underway here?"

"Not per se," Heero replied, "but with summer coming to a close, weekends like this one gain a new, special meaning. Most of these stalls typically come out during holiday celebrations, but while the end of summer may not be an official occasion to throw a festival for, it's still a great time for them to make some money."

Ryoko nodded as she surveyed the stands. There were shooting galleries, ring-toss, dart throwing, and much more. A mischievous smirk came to her face; if she wanted to get into a little competition with Ayeka, she'd just found the perfect place to do it.

"Hey, Heero," she said as she grabbed his arm, "Why don't we try a round at that shooting stand over there? You versus me, what do you say? It'll be fun!"

"I think sir Heero would like to go a round with _me_ ," said Ayeka as she grabbed his other arm.

"How's he supposed to enjoy himself when you won't pull the damn stick out of your ass?" growled Ryoko.

" _Excuse me_!" snarled Ayeka, "It's not my fault you're intimidated by my noble and refined bearing!"

"Why don't we make it a free for all?" Heero cut in, walking towards the shooting gallery and inadvertently dragging both girls along with him, "It'll make things interesting."

His expression hadn't changed, but Ryoko thought she saw his gaze shift ever so slightly. There was a hint of amusement and energy there; he was actually looking forward to this.

 _All right_ , thought Ryoko, _Now he's loosening up a bit!_

Approaching the stall, Heero gestured to the man behind the counter. "One round for the three of us."

The man nodded, and after Heero gave him a few bills he passed over three popguns and flicked a switch, causing several circular targets to pop up behind him. Once the man was out of the way he gave the signal for the three of them to start shooting.

Ryoko immediately pulled the trigger, and her first shot went wide of the target she'd been aiming at.

"What the hell?" she said, "I could've sworn I had that!"

"Having trouble, Ryoko?" said Ayeka, a smug smirk on her face.

Ryoko scowled at her, only to laugh as she saw Ayeka's opening shot miss her target as well.

"You were saying, princess?" the pirate quipped.

"Shut up," Ayeka growled as she reloaded.

Ryoko was doing the same when she saw Heero take his first shot. Unlike hers and Ayeka's, his was right on the money; a clean bull's eye right from the get go.

"Come on," he said with just the barest hint of a smirk on his face, "Is that the best that you two can do? I was hoping you'd make this interesting."

Ryoko grinned. "Oh, it's on, Heero!"

"Ladies first," he replied, waving his hand downrange.

Ryoko aimed her gun and fired. This time her shot hit a target, although it was on the inner ring rather than a bull's eye like Heero. Still, it was definitely progress. As she reloaded she watched as Ayeka took her shot and had the same luck as Ryoko. While the two women scowled at each other again they almost missed Heero calmly reloading his gun before almost casually taking his second shot. Just like the first, his was a perfect bull's eye.

"Okay, what gives?" said Ryoko, pouting, "Heero, if you know something that I don't about this game you'd better tell me! Come on, what's the trick?"

"The trick," he said casually, "is to aim and shoot."

Ryoko smirked. "Smart-ass, huh? I like that!"

"Oh, you are unbelievable, Ryoko!" huffed Ayeka, "How dare you mock our host like that!"

"Trust me, princess," said Ryoko, "The last thing I'm doing is mocking him."

Rather than aim her gun downrange again, Ryoko waited until Ayeka was doing that before turning her gun on the Juraian princess, leaning back to aim around Heero, and firing. She had the satisfaction of seeing the little cork bullet hit her rival right in the head, and it had the bonus of throwing off the royal's shot so that it didn't come even close to hitting a target.

"How _dare_ you!" Ayeka cried in indignation.

"No shooting each other, ladies!" the man behind the stall ordered.

It was too late for that; both women were already reloading, and this time Ayeka was aiming at Ryoko. They both traded shots behind Heero's back as he sniped his third target, and while her guardian's attention may have been focused downrange Ryoko knew that he was well aware of what she and Ayeka were up to.

"I said don't shoot each other!" said the stall manager, "If you keep this up I'm going to boot the lot of you!"

"Shut up!" snapped Ryoko and Ayeka simultaneously as they reloaded again.

The two women fired again, hitting each other smack in the middle of the forehead. As they turned around to grab more ammo though they found that the stall manager had already remove the remaining cork bullets from their reach.

"That's it, you're done!" he growled, "All three of you, beat it!"

"Fine," said Heero as he put his gun down and grabbed Ryoko and Ayeka by the arms, "Come on, you two."

"Aw," Ryoko pouted, "but it was just getting fun!"

" _That's_ your idea of fun?" Ayeka stammered, "Really, you are so immature, Ryoko!"

"Don't be so uptight, Ayeka," said Ryoko, turning to Heero and smiling, "Come on, Heero, you enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"

She was pleased to see the young man not only nod but actually give a small smirk. "It was… quite amusing. I'd say it was worth the money spent."

"See?" said Ryoko, "I told you it would be fun!"

"Well," said Ayeka, "I suppose it was a good way to let off some steam."

"Exactly," said Ryoko, her eyes still on Heero, "So, what do you say we go check out another one?"

Heero nodded. "All right, but this time, please try not to get us booted."

Ryoko smirked. "No promises."

….

"I can't believe you got us kicked out of every game stall!" Ayeka huffed indignantly, "You truly are a scoundrel, Ryoko!"

"Hey, it wasn't just my fault, you royal brat!" Ryoko shot back, "It's not a fight unless there are at least two people involved, and you were more than involved, princess!"

"It sounds like we missed quite an eventful afternoon," said Azaka.

"Yes," said Kamidake, "I hope Princess Ayeka enjoyed herself."

 _An eventful afternoon, huh?_ , thought Heero, listening in on them from the kitchen as he made dinner, _That's certainly one way of looking at it…_

They'd just returned to his apartment a little while ago. His two guests had settled in on his couch while he had gone to prepare the evening meal, but due to the open nature of the central area of his apartment Heero had no problem listening in on the women in his living room.

Their time at the park had certainly been lively. After the shooting gallery they'd move on to more games and, as Ayeka had just said, had managed to get themselves booted from each and every one of them. Heero had figured that the next stall in line would've refused the service, but of course the people in charge of it were only too happy to take their money first and let them try a round before deciding that they were too much trouble. Always it was the same scenario; Ryoko and Ayeka's rivalry would flare up and it would escalate from there, though thankfully the two women had refrained from unleashing the powers hidden within them during their competition.

At another time in his life Heero would've viewed today's events as nothing but trouble, but the young man was no longer the same Gundam pilot of Operation Meteor. The day had certainly been hectic, and it was all thanks to Ryoko and Ayeka, but it hadn't left a bad taste in Heero's mouth. In fact…

…he'd actually kind of enjoyed it.

Today had been so _different_ from what his life had become since the conclusion of the Mariemaia rebellion nearly two years ago. He wasn't in some far-flung corner of the Earth Sphere hunting down a target or in a data analysis room looking for clues to an impending threat or spying on an arms deal before calling in a raid. Watching over Ryoko and Ayeka had been presented to him as a mission, and by and large he still considered it to be one, but it was so unlike any other mission Heero had ever had before. There was no one he was charged with tracking and arresting or killing, and while keeping Ryoko and Ayeka under watch and preventing them from going all out with their powers certainly counted as protecting innocent people in his book it didn't have the same sense of urgency. Sure, Ryoko and Ayeka clearly had abilities beyond normal people and definitely needed someone to keep an eye on them during their time on Earth, but Heero had a feeling that if left to their own devices they wouldn't go out of their way to harm the people of his planet with their powers.

 _As long as I can keep them from getting into a big fight with each other, things should be okay_ , he thought, _If things really get heated between the two of them, their power can cause a lot of collateral damage. I'm not just their guardian and overseer in this mission; I have to be a peacekeeper as well._

It was a strange notion to him. It shouldn't have been; as a Preventers operative his mission was to keep the peace. However, too often that task had involved the blood others, and Heero had felt less like a peacekeeper and more like a soldier or, when he was being far less charitable with himself, an assassin. He didn't know what being a genuine keeper of the peace was supposed to be like, but something he could not place was telling him that it wasn't supposed to make him feel like little more than the blade the government brought out in the shadows.

A timer went off, providing a welcome distraction from the dark road his thoughts had been going down. Checking the pot on the stove, the bowl in the sink, and the tray in the oven, he saw that dinner was as ready as it was going to get.

"All right, you two," he said as he got out plates and silverware and set them on the nearby counter, "Dinner's ready. Come in here and I'll dish you up."

"Sweet!" said Ryoko, literally flying off the couch and into the kitchen with Ayeka hot on her heels.

It was a simple meal that Heero had prepared, but one that he had grown fond of since getting his own place and working for Preventers. As Ryoko and Ayeka came over to him with plates in hand he dished them up hearty portions of spaghetti and meatballs, sprinkled parmesan cheese over it, and topped things off with two slices of garlic bread each. After getting both the women set and dishing up a plate for himself and putting on the table in front of the couch he then went back to the kitchen to fetch the bottle of red wine that he had bought at the grocery store earlier that day. Pouring glasses for the three of them, he then went back out to the living area and joined them.

Ayeka was looking up at him with a polite smile on her face, having not yet touched her food; royal etiquette was doubtlessly at play here as she had not started eating without her host present. Ryoko had showed no such restraint and was already digging into her spaghetti.

"This is great!" said the space pirate, smiling in between bites, "You know, Heero, you're one hell of a cook!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Really, Ryoko, could you at least have waited until sir Heero had joined us before chowing down like a mongrel?"

"Oh, come on, Ayeka!" Ryoko replied, "I'm freaking starving here!"

"You should still show a bit of restraint on behalf of our host," Ayeka scolded.

"It's okay," said Heero as he sat down to join them, "I really don't mind."

Truth be told, Ryoko's brashness and lack of etiquette was actually rather refreshing. In his line of work Heero had gone to more than his fair share of seedy dives, run-down bars and all manner of locales unsuited for polite company, but he had also been called upon from time to time to attend high-society functions. Sometimes he would be infiltrating them as part of a mission, while other occasions would be government events that Director Une and Sally would force him to attend. On the surface the people in attendance would appear to be a picture of good manners and decorum, but all too often their politeness was superficial. Ryoko's straightforward and unrefined nature was much more to Heero's liking, although from what he could tell Ayeka did at least seem to be sincere in her desire to show politeness and be proper with him.

"All right," said Ryoko, "You brought the booze too! You're the best, Heero!"

"Should we make a toast to something?" asked Ayeka.

"Come on, Ayeka," said Ryoko, "Forget about all that formal stuff. Let's just pound it back!"

"I really think the occasion demands a toast," Ayeka insisted, "This was our first full day under sir Heero's care, and he showed us some of his home city. After all he's done for us today I think that the least we can do is express our gratitude for it before we drink."

Ryoko turned to Heero and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you've got a point there."

"I would like to think so," said Ayeka, smiling at Heero as well.

The two women raised their glasses.

"To you, Heero," said Ryoko, "Today was a lot of fun."

Ayeka nodded. "It was quite enjoyable. To you, sir Heero."

The Perfect Soldier found a very small smiling creeping onto his face. He shook his head and raised his glass.

"To new friends," he said.

 _Yes_ , he thought as the three of them drank in unison, _that's what really made today so unique. Ryoko, Ayeka… you two are the first new friends I've made in a long time._

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Heero: Well, I planned on taking Ryoko and Ayeka out to Lake Genval for a relaxing walk, but things didn't quite pan out that way._

 _Ryoko: I'll say. You are just a magnet for ship crashes, you know that, Heero?_

 _Ayeka: Yes, this is a rather worrying trend. Oh dear, I do hope the pilot of that ship is all right. They came in awfully fast!_

 _Ryoko: Wait a minute. I think I've seen ships like this before._

 _Ayeka: Oh, now that you mention it, I have too! Yes, it's only fitting that the Galaxy Police would track you down out here!_

 _Ryoko: Hah, I'd like to see them try to arrest me! Besides, I'm under Heero's observational custody just like you, remember? Heero, you won't let the fuzz take me away, will you?_

 _Heero: How did I end up in this mess again?_

 _Ayeka: Next time, on Chapter Four: No Need For A Cop!_

 _Mihoshi: Oh no, my ship! Kiyone's going to kill me for wrecking it again!_

 **Author's Notes:** Well, as you can no doubt tell from the preview, the next chapter is Mihoshi's introduction! Kiyone's not popping up quite yet; she'll make her entrance a few chapters later.

Until next time! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** All right, Chapter Four is up! Another member of the cast is introduced, and she's far from the last.

Since people are still asking about this, I'll say it again; I'm still working on Destiny's Call too, so don't worry. The Pirate's Soldier just has shorter chapters than Destiny's Call, so the release rate for chapters is faster for this story than the other one. I'm working on both side by side, a little bit for each every day.

Enjoy!

 **Chapter Four: No Need For A Cop!**

 **September 7** **th** **, A.C. 198**

As has been mentioned before, the Sol System is in pretty much the galactic ass-end of the middle of nowhere. Sure, it gets the occasional bit of through traffic, but not with any real measure of consistency. One space ship crash landing on Earth would be an astounding roll of the cosmic dice, let alone two. As for those two particular ships containing an infamous space pirate and the crown princess of a galactic empire, well, one would have better odds of winning the Jurai lottery than bearing witness to such an event.

Still, in countering of the old saying, sometimes lightning really does strike the same spot twice. Hell, sometimes it will go for three.

And sometimes the universe just shrugs and goes, 'Fuck it, let's just throw a bunch of weird crap at one spot and see what happens.'

Well, the universe has decided to shrug and flip probability the bird. Now the crap throwing begins.

Crap, in this case, comes in the form of another space ship with another alien babe on board. The ship in question is neither Juraian nor criminal, and the same goes for the babe. The vessel, a sleek grey ship with streamlined curves and a frame designed for pursuit and combat, was a patrol craft of a design that was very commonly found within the ranks of the Galaxy Police, an interstellar law enforcement agency whose patrols could be found both within Jurai space and the territory of other lawful powers in the universe. The organization held a vital role within galactic affairs, serving as both an international law enforcement agency and as a sort of mediator between rival nations. Whether chasing down pirates, interdicting smugglers, or arbitrating diplomatic disputes, Galaxy Police officers could be found all over the lawful portions of the universe, doing their best to keep order in the cosmos.

The woman at the helm of the patrol ship was Galaxy Police Detective First Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu. Decked out in her official uniform, consisting of dark grey pants and a white button up shirt under a blue over shirt, she was quite a lovely officer. Her dark skin provided a pleasant clash with her blonde hair and blue eyes, and her training had kept her body quite athletic, although she maintained an ample bust.

Mihoshi was a very devoted officer. Service in the Galaxy Police ran in the family, and her graduation from the academy and appointment as Detective First Class had been one of the happiest moments of her life. Unfortunately her enthusiasm for her new job hadn't exactly translated into a stellar career. She was honest and full of boundless optimism, but had gained a reputation as being something of a scatterbrain and a walking disaster area. Wherever Mihoshi went, trouble of some kind or another was bound to follow as she either stumbled right into a sting operation, crashed into a diplomat's cruiser, set Galaxy Police HQ's kitchen on fire in a misguided attempt at cooking, or made some other bit of trouble thanks to her hapless nature and _very_ odd kind of luck.

Despite the unwitting calamities that had dogged her career, Mihoshi still retained both her job and her rank. This was due to a combination of family connections and a good deal of sympathy. Everyone knew that Mihoshi meant well and truly cared about being a Galaxy Police officer, but her happy-go-lucky nature and sometimes incredible levels of obliviousness meant that she just could not be allowed anywhere near anything that was considered to be vital work. In order to work things out in an amicable manner she had been assigned to the Outland Sector's Traffic Patrol Division, which kept her far removed from core systems, important dignitaries, and anything else that was deemed far too important to be within light years of the luckless woman.

Thanks to the universe's shrug and giving probability the middle finger, the Outland Sector also included the Sol System…

…and Mihoshi had just so happened to be at the bare minimum distance from it necessary to pick up the distress beacon from the _Ryu-Oh_.

A light showed up on her sensor display and a beeping came from her console, jolting Mihoshi out of the nap she'd been taking in the pilot's seat.

"Uh-oh," she thought as she frantically looked around the cockpit, "I fell asleep again! What's going on?"

After a few seconds her eyes fell on the flashing light on the console. "A distress beacon! Someone's in trouble! Where are they?"

Adjuster her sensor display, she saw that it was not just any general distress beacon. It was broadcasting on a frequency used by ships flying under the flag of the Empire of Jurai. The signal was coming from the third planet of a relatively nearby star system.

Mihoshi smiled. "All right, I found them! Now I just need to set a course in the autopilot!"

She entered the beacon's exact coordinates into her system. A green light flashed on the console; the new course was acknowledged and her patrol cruiser was underway.

"Okay," she said as she stood up, "I've got some time before I get there. Time for a snack!"

As she left the bridge Mihoshi failed to notice another red light on the console just below the green light. If she had paid closer attention she would've notice that it was a warning from the autopilot. The system had accepted her course, but it had also noted that following that exact course would take it down to the planet's surface…

…and that a proper landing vector had not been entered into the computer.

Regardless of the obvious oversight, the autopilot would continue to follow the course Mihoshi had entered. Little did the Detective First Class know that she would be in for a much harder landing than she'd expected on arrival.

….

"You know," said Ryoko as she walked along the path with Heero and Ayeka, "now that I've got the chance to see this place when I'm _not_ being rammed by a Jurai Treeship and plunging towards the surface, I gotta say, this is a pretty nice lake."

"Yes," said Ayeka, "It has a quiet charm about it."

 _Yeah_ , thought Heero as he looked around, _I never really noticed that about this place before. Then again, the first time I'd ever spent any real amount of time here was during the crash. I guess that's not really the best first impression, is it?_

It was hard to believe that it had only been five days since his first encounter with Ryoko and Ayeka. They'd certainly kept him busy in that time. Since he was being paid by Preventers to watch over them Heero had felt that it would be bad form to spend all that time in the apartment. So he'd decided to take them out to more parts of the ESUN's capital city and the surrounding area. The outing had soon developed a formula of sorts; Heero would take Ryoko and Ayeka to a location, they'd enjoy themselves for a while, and then the two women would get in an argument about something or another and they'd move on to the next stop.

There was also another consideration Heero'd had in mind when he had suggested this outing. He had wanted to bring Ryoko and Ayeka out to the lake to see if they could pick up anything from their respective ships. Preventers dive teams had repeatedly tried to find the remains of them, but they all reported the same things; red and green glowing lights showing up before being swept aside by a strong current that should not exist in Lake Genval.

Still, this trip was not all business. In his brief time with Ryoko and Ayeka Heero was already starting to learn how to unwind just a little bit. It was a very slow process, but Heero was gradually acclimatizing himself to the idea that he could live without field work for a while. Keeping an eye on Ryoko and Ayeka felt like a full-time job as it was, but it wasn't without its upsides. He'd traveled around Brussels a good deal before this, but it had almost always been in relation to his work. Now, even though watching over Ryoko and Ayeka still qualified as a mission, he felt like he was seeing the city in a new light. Heero was slowly rediscovering the city that he'd called home for the past two years, and it was a very interesting experience.

 _Was this what Duo was always talking about when he said I needed to 'loosen up a bit'?_ , he thought, _It's… not what I expected…_

Then again, he'd never expected to be sharing his apartment with two beautiful alien women, either. Life was just full of surprises. Heero had thought that, as a Gundam pilot and then a Preventers operative, he'd pretty much seen it all. Then an alleged space pirate and the supposed crown princess of an interstellar empire had gotten into a firefight in the Sol System and he'd gotten caught in the middle of it, and now to top it all off they had become his roommates. At this point Heero had no idea what life would throw at him next, and he was unsure how to feel about that.

Looking back at the two women, he was surprised to see them both staring intently at the lake. There was no bickering between the two of them, no glares or scowls. They were both focused on the spot where their ships had gone down, their expressions thoughtful.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

After a moment both women turned to him and smiled.

"Quite so, sir Heero," said Ayeka.

"Yup," said Ryoko, "No worries, Heero."

"Were you able to pick up anything from Ryo-Ohki and _Ryu-Oh_?" he asked.

Ryoko nodded. "Ryo-Ohki's still hibernating. After that crash she really needs to rest up for a bit."

" _Ryu-Oh_ survives," said Ayeka, "It is simply healing and gathering strength. Given the nature of the impact I imagine it will be a slow process, but it is making progress."

Heero nodded. "Glad to hear it."

He found his eyes lingering on the two women for longer than they should have. Casual attire was the order of the day, but they both looked quite lovely regardless. Ayeka had taken a modest approach, wearing blue jeans and a light grey blouse, while Ryoko had on a rather short black skirt and a white button-up shirt… with a couple of the uppermost buttons undone. Once again, Heero realized his gaze was on the space pirate for just a bit longer than the Juraian princess.

He did his best to turn away without making it obvious that he'd been staring at them. Ayeka did not appear to notice, but for a moment he thought he saw a knowing look in Ryoko's amber eyes.

"So," he said, "how long is the recovery process for Ryo-Ohki and _Ryu-Oh_?"

"Well," said Ryoko, "for Ryo-Ohki it really depends on what sort of damage she's taken. She came down pretty hard in the crash, even with the lake softening things up a bit. She'll be down for a while."

"It's the same for _Ryu-Oh_ ," said Ayeka, "Although… given the nature of the crash, I really couldn't say how long the recovery will take. I'm afraid it's never been in a situation like this before."

Ryoko smirked. "So, are you saying you're going to have to hitchhike out of here, princess?"

Ayeka flushed, though whether it was with fury or embarrassment was hard to say.

"Gloat all you like, you rogue!" she growled, "I will not let this setback be the end of me, mark my words on that!"

"Hey," said Ryoko, "if you need a lift out of here, I can give you one in Ryo-Ohki. Of course, I could then just pick a random planet to drop you off on. Oh, I know so many places at the edge of Juraian space that you'd have some fun in, princess! That is, if you managed to survive!"

Ayeka folded her arms. "Hah! As if I would ever stoop so low as to ask the likes of you for transport! Play at your sick delusions all you like, you worthless tramp! Remember, _Ryu-Oh_ 's distress beacon is active. Eventually a vessel will pick up the signal and realize that it is coming from a vessel belonging to the Jurai Royal Family! From there my passage back to the Empire will be assured!"

Ryoko shook her head. "You do realize that we're way out in the boonies, right? Hate to break it to you, Ayeka, but the odds of anyone picking up your signal out here are pretty damn remote."

Ayeka gave her a confident smile, though to Heero it looked somewhat forced. "You underestimate the reach of the Empire of Jurai. It is only a matter of time before a servant of the Royal Family comes out here looking for me."

 _As long as they're low-key about their arrival_ , thought Heero, _Ryoko and Ayeka's landing caused enough of a stir as it is. Director Une's still trying to contain everything. Who knows what kind of trouble another interstellar visitor might cause…_

As Ryoko and Ayeka continued their back-and-forth Heero felt his smart-phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling out the device and checking the caller ID, he saw that the person trying to reach him was Sally Po.

 _Does she want a status update already?_ , he thought, _She usually waits until the evening._

Touching the screen but keeping it off speaker to retain some privacy, Heero answered the call. "Hello, Sally. What's going on?"

"Hey, Heero," she replied, "So, you know that old saying about lightning not striking the same spot twice?"

"It was scientifically proven to be false?" Heero deadpanned, not sure he liked where this was heading.

"You know what I mean," said Sally, "Well… it's about to happen."

Glancing furtively over at Ryoko and Ayeka to make sure they were still arguing, Heero took a few steps away from the two women before responding. "You have to be joking."

"Afraid not," Sally replied, "A contact just passed Mars a few minutes ago. It's making a beeline for Earth, and it's coming in fast."

"Do we have any visual contact yet?" Heero asked, his calm voice belying his racing mind, "Does it look anything like Ryo-Ohki or _Ryu-Oh_?"

"Negative," said Sally, "It's a completely different design. Hang on, I'll send you a snapshot."

Heero waited for the picture to upload. He narrowed his eyes as it appeared on the screen. It had a much more conventional appearance than Ryo-Ohki or _Ryu-Oh_ had. The vessel was very streamlined and painted grey, and was much more along the lines of what Heero might've expected an alien space ship to look like. Heero was already learning to cast aside preconceived notions of what aliens and their ships might be like, though; having Ryoko and Ayeka as houseguests certainly helped with that.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, "Tallgeese III's still undergoing repairs, and if it's moving as fast as Ryo-Ohki and _Ryu-Oh_ were then there's no way I can scramble a Taurus before it reaches Earth orbit."

"I'm well aware of that," Sally replied, "Where are you now?"

"Lake Genval," said Heero, "Ryoko and Ayeka are with me."

"I see," said Sally, "I don't suppose they're listening in, are they?"

Heero turned around, expecting to see Ryoko and Ayeka still arguing but instead realizing that they were right behind him, clearly trying to eavesdrop on his conversation.

"How much did you hear?" he asked.

"We dropped in on the part where you said you can't scramble," Ryoko replied, "Who ya talking to, Heero?"

Ayeka elbowed the pirate. "You're so rude, Ryoko. How dare you try to spy on our host's conversations!"

Ryoko kicked at her shins. "Hey, you were trying to listen in too, you royal bitch!"

"I'm going to take that as a yes," came Sally's voice from his phone, "Put me on speaker, Heero."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Might as well," she said, "Wait, hold that thought; got an update coming in on the contact."

"What's going on, Heero?" asked Ryoko.

"Is something the matter, sir Heero?" asked Ayeka.

Heero held up his finger to hush them as he waited for Sally to get back on the line. Luckily he didn't have to wait too long.

"Huh," said Sally, "How's that for strange coincidence of the week?"

"What is it?" asked Heero.

"We got a more precise vector for the contact," said Sally, "It's definitely Earthbound, and seems to be making for Europe."

"Can you narrow it down any further?" Heero asked.

"Hang on," Sally replied, "Let me see here…"

"Come on, Heero," said Ryoko, "Tell me what's up!"

"Is it something that I might be able to provide assistance with, sir Heero?" asked Ayeka.

Heero held up his hand to silence them again as he waited for Sally to get back to him. It was only a brief pause before she did so.

"Heero," said Sally, "you might want to find some cover."

Heero sighed. "You've _got_ to be kidding."

"Afraid not," said Sally, "Contact appears to be on a straight shot for Lake Genval."

"Damn," said Heero, "how long do we have?"

"At the pace it's moving, not long at all," said Sally, "Try to get some distance from the shore, but don't leave the area; I want you on hand to investigate after touchdown."

"Understood," said Heero.

"I'll update you if the contact's vector changes," said Sally, "Good luck."

"Thanks," said Heero before disconnecting.

He then turned to Ryoko and Ayeka. "We need to move. Now."

"What for?" asked Ryoko.

"There's a ship coming in," Heero replied, "It's heading for this lake and it's moving fast."

Ayeka looked at Ryoko and gave her a triumphant smile. "Hah! I told you someone would pick up my distress beacon."

"Apparently," said Heero, quite eager to cut her off before she and Ryoko go into another fight, "and they're heading _right for us_. You do realize what that means if they don't slow down, right?"

"Well," said Ayeka, "surely the pilot's not foolish enough to come down at top speed."

"Are you willing to bet your life on that?" asked Heero, "From what Sally just told me it doesn't look like they're slowing down."

Ayeka gulped nervously. "Is… is that so? Well, then I suppose caution is in order."

"Right," said Ryoko, "So, where are we heading to?"

"The parking lot," Heero replied, "Let's move."

As they started walking again Heero's smart-phone buzzed again. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw that the caller was once again Sally.

"What is it?" he asked when he answered.

"The likelihood of Lake Genval being the contact's destination just shot up a few percentage points," Sally replied, "Contact still isn't slowing down, either. It'll be hitting the atmosphere any second now, so you'd better get a move on."

"Copy that," said Heero before disconnecting.

"What now?" asked Ryoko.

"We need to pick up the pace," Heero replied.

"I can't believe this," said Ayeka, "Surely the pilot will slow down soon…"

"They'll come down in pieces if they don't," Ryoko quipped.

"And those pieces could cause a lot of damage," said Heero, "Not to mention they could fall right on top of us if we don't get a move on."

"That would suck," said Ryoko.

"Quite so," said Ayeka, "Let us make haste."

The three of them began to move at a brisk jog, casting the occasional glance skyward to look for any sign of the incoming vessel. Eventually Heero noticed a small red streak on the horizon… one that was growing larger with each passing second.

"Damn it!" he hissed, "I think that's it!"

"It looks like it's still in one piece," said Ryoko, her eyes narrowed as she studied the distant contact, "It must've slowed down at least enough to survive early entry, but I think it's still coming in pretty fast."

"Which means that it will make a bigger wave when it hits the lake!" said Ayeka, "We must run!"

"Agreed," said Heero as he grabbed both women by the arms, "Double time it, ladies!"

He started to run, dragging the two women with him as he went. He kept looking up at the sky, noticing the red streak getting closer at an alarming rate.

"They really should be slowing down now!" cried Ayeka.

"No kidding," said Ryoko, "What the hell's that dumbass pilot thinking?"

"Worry about that later," said Heero, "We're almost at the parking lot."

A few seconds later Ryoko spoke again. "Heero, I don't think we're going to make it!"

Looking back again, Heero's eyes narrowed as he saw just how much closer the contact had gotten. He was now able to make out an actual outline of the ship, and it definitely appeared to be heading right for the lake.

"Move it!" he yelled.

"Damn it, princess!" cried Ryoko, "If we get killed because of your damn distress beacon I swear I'm going to haunt you in the afterlife!"

"Just shut up and run!" shrieked Ayeka.

"Ah, screw this!" shouted Ryoko, suddenly grabbing Heero, "Hang on, Heero!"

"What are you doing?" said Heero.

"Saving our hides!" Ryoko replied, and she began to lift off the ground, taking the Preventers agent with her.

"Hey!" said Ayeka, still hanging on to Heero's arm, "Don't you dare leave me down here!"

Heero grimaced at the princess's weight on his arm as Ryoko took them into the air. He was strong, but he didn't have the best leverage here. The Gundam pilot was impressed by Ryoko's strength; she was lifting him and Ayeka with what appeared to be very little effort.

Looking over at Ryoko's face, he was surprised to see her eyes narrowed in concentration. There was a fierce, determined light in those amber gems. It was such a sharp contrast from the playful and relaxed pirate woman that he had slowly been getting to know these past few days.

She must've noticed him staring, because she turned to him and smiled. "Don't worry, Heero. I'm not about to let either of us die here."

Heero nodded. "Thanks."

"Hey!" cried Ayeka, "You'd best not forget about me, you rogue!"

 _How can we?_ , thought Heero, _You're about to rip my arm off._

"Ryoko," he said, "Can you find a tree to set us down in? That should be high enough for us to avoid any waves the ship makes when it hits."

Ryoko nodded. "Sure thing. Hold on."

As the space pirate brought them towards a tall tree with what appeared to be firm branches, Heero's gaze once again turned towards the incoming ship. Her lines were clearly visible now, and even with just his own eyes to rely upon the Preventers agent could tell that her course was true; she would touch down in the lake.

 _Minimal risk of civilian casualties_ , he thought with relief, _Small favors…_

"Here we go!" said Ryoko, "Grab a branch, Heero!"

"Please don't drop me, sir Heero!" Ayeka cried.

Moving somewhat awkwardly thanks to the princess clutching his arm, Heero managed to position himself on the tree branch as Ryoko set him down and grab the trunk to stabilize himself. Heaving with his other arm, he brought Ayeka up and onto the branch while Ryoko settled in on another one just a bit above them.

"Thank you, sir Heero!" said Ayeka, still clutching his arm, "You are remarkably strong!"

"Hey," snapped Ryoko, "I'm the one that flew you both up here! I'm the one that deserves thanks!"

Heero nodded. "She's right, Ayeka. Thank you, Ryoko."

The lovely outlaw smiled. "Anything for you, hotshot."

Ryoko then folded her arms and glared at Ayeka. "Waiting, princess."

Ayeka looked down, her gaze a mix of frustration and embarrassment. "As if I would ever…"

"Ayeka," said Heero firmly.

There was no need for elaboration; he knew that the tone of his voice was more than enough to convey his message. Ayeka looked at him for a moment before respectfully bowing her head.

She then turned to Ryoko, her teeth clenched as she spoke. "I… I thank you, Ryoko."

Ryoko smirked and put her hand by her right ear. "What's that, Ayeka? I couldn't hear you there!"

"Damn it, you scoundrel!" shouted Ayeka, "I said thank you! Do not make me play your games for a second longer!"

"Hold on tight!" yelled Heero, his gaze focused on the sky again, "It's about to hit!"

He and his two companions gripped the tree as they watched the ship make its final descent. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the grey vessel, its hull still glowing from atmospheric entry, fell towards the surface of the lake.

Then, with a mighty crash, the ship slammed into the water and kicked up a big wave. The water served to muffle the impact somewhat, but it still made a resounding splash and sent water soaring into the air. Heero sighed with relief when he saw the wave generated by the crash hit the lake shore, tossing about boats in their docks and drenching some buildings but doing little real damage. The liquid that had been sent into the air came done in a brief but torrential rain, soaking the Gundam pilot and the two women with him.

As things settled Heero focused on the source of the commotion. To his surprise the vessel still seemed reasonably intact, although it was very much beat to hell. He didn't know how sturdy the design was, but he had a hard time imagining it taking off again after a crash like this.

 _Director Une's going to throw a fit about this_ , he thought, _Another alien crash landing in the same spot Ryoko and Ayeka hit, and in broad daylight no less…_

He turned to his two companions. "Are you both okay?"

Ryoko nodded. "Drenched, but I'm good."

"Yes," said Ayeka, "I believe I'm all right. Oh, I'm soaked!"

"Quite griping, princess," said Ryoko, looking down at her shirt for a moment before turning to Heero with a smirk, "So, Heero, what do you think of this?"

She leaned forward, her black bra very much visible through her wet white shirt. Heero turned his gaze towards the crashed ship, but it wasn't fast enough to completely avoid getting a good look at how her soaked clothing clung tightly to her body, emphasizing every lovely curve.

"I think we need to get down from here," he said, "We need to confirm if that pilot's alive or dead."

"Really, Ryoko?" said Ayeka with a glare, "You pick _now_ of all times to pull such a shameful stunt?"

"Please, princess," Ryoko replied with a chuckle, "You're just wishing that you'd thought of it first. Not that it would do you much good; grey's not as good a color for it as white."

Ayeka flushed red, though whether it was from embarrassment or fury Heero could not say. However, he found himself not quite in agreement with Ryoko's statement; Ayeka's clothing may not have offered such a tantalizing view when wet, but they also did very little to hide her slender figure.

 _Get it together, Heero_ , he thought as he turned his attention back to the crashed ship, _Your focus is this newcomer, not your companions._

"Come on," he said as he started climbing down the tree, "We need to get to that ship."

Ayeka nodded. "Right behind you, sir Heero."

Ryoko smirked and floated off her tree branch. "I'll see you guys down on the ground. Sure you don't want a lift, Heero?"

"I'm fine," he replied as the space pirate hovered down beside him.

Ryoko shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Eventually he reached the ground after the lovely outlaw, and while Ryoko folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently Heero held out his arms to help Ayeka bring herself down out of the tree.

The princess smiled at him as she regained her footing. "Thank you, sir Heero."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome. Let's go."

The ground was soggy from all the water that had been thrown up by the impact, but Heero and the others were still able to make it over to the edge of the lake with little difficulty. Now that Heero had a good view of the ship he was able to get a better appreciation of its size. It looked to be somewhere between the tonnage of Ryo-Ohki and the _Ryu-Oh_ , and while he could hardly consider himself an expert in ship design the vessel's sleek profile did strike Heero as something fitting for combat.

"Have either of you ever seen a ship like this before?" he asked.

Ayeka brought her right hand to her chin, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Hmm… it does look vaguely familiar. I don't think I've seen this particular vessel before, but the design… oh, blast it, where have I seen this before?"

"No idea," said Ryoko, although there was something about the look in her eyes that didn't sit right with Heero, "Never seen anything like this ship before."

"How strange," said Ayeka softly, "I do faintly recall vessels like this or of similar design, but… from where?"

"Not a clue," said Ryoko, once again not sounding entirely convincing.

 _Something's up here_ , thought Heero as he looked between Ryoko and the ship, _The question is what._

The Gundam pilot tensed when he saw a sphere of red light shoot out of the top of the ship. It wasn't that large, a little bigger than a human, but it was heading right for the shore where Heero and the others were standing.

"I don't like the look of this," said Ryoko.

"Yes…" said Ayeka nervously.

"Stay behind me," said Heero, his hand hovering over his pistol.

It was a reflexive utterance; from what Heero had seen over the past few days he knew that Ryoko and Ayeka were perfectly capable of defending themselves, and could probably defend _him_ as well. Still, it was not in his nature to take cover behind other people in the face of possible danger.

Ryoko shook her head and smiled. "Not a chance, Heero. I don't back down from a fight."

"Nor do I," said Ayeka.

Heero nodded. "All right. In that case, be ready for anything."

The three of them watched as the glowing red orb touched down on the nearby shore. It was still for a moment, and then the crimson light began to recede. As it faded away it was replaced by something that looked very much like a miniature mobile suit. It had a slightly hunched over frame, dark grey armor and a single green optical sensor. The strange unit was much more compact than the machines Heero had flown and fought against in his past battles, and the Preventers operative realized that 'mobile suit' may not actually be the proper terminology for it.

 _It looks more like mechanical armor of some sort_ , he thought, _It's definitely bigger than a human, but it's far from mobile suit scale._

The unknown contact looked around for a moment before its sensor settled on the three of them. Heero didn't dare make the first move, and from the look of things neither did Ryoko or Ayeka. Then Heero saw the mechanical eye lock onto Ryoko, and the person wielding the unit raise its right hand, and two tubes that the Gundam pilot instantly recognized as gunbarrels came out of the wrist.

"Shit," he growled, instantly drawing his weapon.

The twin gunbarrels glowed with yellow light, but before they could fire Ryoko let loose with a blast of crimson energy. Her attack hit the machine dead center and knocked it back, but the unit was far from down for the count.

"Damn it," snarled Ryoko as she took to the sky, "It's a pirate!"

"What?" cried Ayeka, "You can't be serious!"

"Why would another pirate show up out here?" asked Heero, his eyes never leaving the machine, "I thought this system was supposed to be in the middle of nowhere!"

"That makes it a good place to lay low for a while!" Ryoko replied, "He probably recognized me and thinks I'll draw too much heat down on his head if he shares the planet with me!"

"Wait a minute!" shouted Ayeka as the machine started towards them again, "You mean you _know_ this thing?"

"Yeah," said Ryoko, "and he's bad news!"

Deciding that he'd question Ryoko about it later, Heero leveled his pistol at the unknown hostile and opened fire. His shots were all dead center on the target, but they did little more than scratch the paint. They did succeed in drawing the thing's attention away from Ryoko, but unfortunately for Heero that meant that now _he_ was right in the enemy's crosshairs.

The gunbarrels glowed yellow again as Heero reloaded his weapon. He was about to roll to the right to evade the expected attack when Ayeka stepped forward.

"Oh, no you don't!" she shouted, and the air around her and Heero suddenly filled with scores of small cylinders, with blue and white bolts of energy crackling between them.

The machine opened fire with its wrist cannons, but the blasts of yellow energy were deflected by Ayeka's barrier. Looking at the princess, Heero was impressed by her stern expression. Her crimson eyes had become as hard as steel, and there was a fire within them that appeared very much to be awakened wrath.

"Sir Heero!" said Ayeka, "I appreciate your gallantry, but I must ask that you stay behind me! You are outgunned in this fight!"

Heero shook his head. "I don't back down that easily, Ayeka."

She looked back at him and smiled. "Of course not. Forgive me. We shall fight this villain together!"

"Hey!" yelled Ryoko as she rained down a volley of crimson energy blasts at the hostile, "Don't forget about me, Ayeka!"

The enemy fired up the jets mounted on its back, showing surprising agility as it evaded Ryoko's attacks. It then turned on the beautiful outlaw, firing a volley of yellow energy blasts at her.

"Hah!" laughed Ryoko as she deflected the shots with an energy field, "You'll have to do better than that if you want to take me down!"

Their mechanical foe apparently took exception to that remark; it gunned its engines and rushed right at Ryoko.

"Whoa!" she cried, her eyes widening as she frantically dodged the charge, "This guy's freaking nuts!"

"Do you see a weak spot on it?" asked Heero as he trained his weapon on the swift contact.

"I don't know," Ryoko replied as she launched another barrage of red energy shots at the enemy, "I'm a little busy up here!"

"Bring it down here!" yelled Ayeka, "I can trap it in an energy field!"

"I'll try!" said Ryoko as she dodged more fire from the hostile.

 _Huh_ , thought Heero as he tried to figure out what part of the contact he should shoot at, _I didn't think I'd ever see these two try to cooperate on something._

Ryoko dropped her altitude a bit and stuck her tongue out at their foe. "Hey! Down here, asshole!"

Much to Heero's surprise, the enemy took the bait, zooming right for Ryoko as she drew closer to the ground.

 _Goaded by a small taunt like that_ , he thought, _Whoever's inside that thing needs to work on keeping their cool under fire… not that I'm going to tell them that right now._

He looked over at Ayeka, who was preparing herself to trap the incoming enemy in a barrier. Not knowing what else to do, Heero kept his pistol aimed squarely at the enemy, shifting a bit to get the sensor eye in his sights; there was a chance that he'd have better luck with that than he'd had with his last volley. He'd already burnt through one clip in this fight, and since he hadn't exactly prepared for a battle today he only had the one currently in his gun and a spare left for the action. The only other weapon he had handy was his combat knife, and it was hard to see how that would be effective here.

The enemy continued to charge, dodging crimson blasts from Ryoko as it came. To the Gundam pilot's eyes the maneuvers seemed to be far too random for mere evasion; their foe was all over the map, and their piloting was rather sloppy.

 _Maybe they're not used to their prey putting up a fight like this_ , he thought, _If that's the case then it should make this fight a bit easier._

Up above he saw Ryoko sideslip the hostile before she turned towards the two of them. "Here it comes, Ayeka!"

"Ready!" the Juraian princess replied, her fierce gaze locked on the rapidly approaching machine.

However, her expression soon turned to one of concern and then alarm as the hostile swiftly closed in. "Damn it, he's moving too erratically! I can't trap him like this! Blast it, hold still, you fiend!"

"Just widen the field!" Heero replied.

Ayeka nodded. "All right. Here we go!"

A broad array of small cylinders appeared in front of the hostile, blue and white bolts of energy crackling between them. Mere moments after the energy field had deployed, the contact smashed right into it. For a second it looked like it was trapped, but to the shock of both Heero and Ayeka it managed to break through.

"Oh, no!" cried Ayeka, "Widening the field weakened its power! I'm so sorry, sir Heero!"

"Never mind that!" shouted Heero as the hostile rushed at them, "Just move!"

However, he saw that Ayeka's face was pale, and her legs were shaking. Her shock from her failure with the barrier was greater than Heero had first realized. There was no way she'd be able to dodge in time.

"No…" she said, "I have the power of Jurai's royal family! How was I bested?"

There was no time to refute her, so instead Heero acted on instinct and tackled her. It was not a moment too soon; the hostile plowed into the ground where she had been standing just a second ago. The contact tumbled for a few meters but soon righted itself and turned back towards Heero and Ayeka.

"Hey!" shouted Ryoko as she dived in, "Stay the hell away from Heero, you damn bastard!"

The amber eyed beauty rained down another barrage of crimson energy at the contact as Heero turned to the princess lying underneath him. "Ayeka, are you all right?"

The purple-haired royal looked up at him and smiled, a blush on her face. "Oh… yes. Thank you, sir Heero."

He quickly got up and pulled Ayeka to her feet. Just a few meters away he saw Ryoko and the hostile trading energy shots again. Crimson and yellow blasts flew between them, with Ryoko landing an occasional glancing blow on the enemy. A few times the hostile looked like it would hit Ryoko, but she managed to throw up an energy field to block its shots.

 _We have to get out of the open_ , he thought, _It's bad enough that another ship's crashed down in Lake Genval, and now we've got a fight out here as well. There aren't any civilians here yet, but that's going to change all too soon._

Quickly coming up with a plan, he turned to Ayeka. "We have to find some cover and isolate this thing. We can't let it get into the residential areas."

Ayeka nodded. "What do you propose?"

He nodded at the wooded area that they had just come out of after the ship had crashed in the lake. "If we can get the enemy to follow us into those trees that should take away some of its ability to maneuver. It'll also give us something of a shield from civilian contact, though it won't last forever; some idiot's eventually going to be curious enough to come check things out."

Heero then turned towards the sky. "Ryoko!"

"What's up, Heero?" she asked as she frantically dodged enemy fire, "I'm a little busy up here!"

"I know!" he replied, "Look, can you get it to chase you into the trees?"

"I'll give it a shot," she said, "You got a plan?"

"I'm working on it!" said Heero.

Ryoko nodded. "Good enough for me!"

"Ayeka and I are heading over there now," said Heero, "We'll find a way to help you take it down once we've got it back there. Be careful!"

Ryoko smiled at him as she took a few potshots at the enemy. "You got it, handsome!"

Heero grabbed Ayeka by the arm. "Let's go."

"Oh!" said the princess, surprised by his assertiveness but not fighting him, "Of course, sir Heero! Lead on!"

Pulling her at a run, Heero rushed for the tree line. Glancing up at the sky, he saw Ryoko gradually moving that way as well, taking a few potshots at the enemy to keep it engaged with her.

As soon as they passed beyond the initial line he pushed Ayeka behind a tree. "Stay down."

Ayeka nodded, taken aback by his gesture but not fighting it. "Very well."

He poked his head out and yelled at his other guest. "Ryoko, get down here!"

"Coming!" she shouted back.

Heero then turned back to Ayeka. "That thing's going to follow Ryoko and will be right on top of us soon. I need you to put up a barrier over us once she gets here. It doesn't have to last long; I just need to let her in on my plan."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "You have a plan, sir Heero?"

Heero nodded. "Yes, but I need you to be able to create and hold that barrier long enough for me to get Ryoko in on it. Can you do that?"

Ayeka nodded with a determined look in her eyes. "Leave it to me, sir Heero!"

Turning back towards the aerial clash, he saw Ryoko coming in fast.

 _She's done well keeping that thing at bay so far_ , he thought, _I hope she doesn't mind playing the bait a little longer…_

….

Throwing one crimson energy blast after another at her foe, Ryoko retreated back towards Heero. The enemy continued to evade the bulk of her shots, with a few glancing off the edges of its armor and leaving scorch marks.

 _Damn it_ , she thought, _I'd really rather avoid going all out against this thing. I'd prefer to save that for fighting Ayeka… or_ _ **her**_ _. I hope Heero's got something in mind._

Defeating the enemy was only part of her concern. She was also keenly aware of the need to keep Heero and Ayeka from realizing just what organization their foe actually belonged to. Ryoko didn't like keeping something like this from Heero, but it was in her best interest to keep him in the dark.

 _I really like the guy_ , she thought, _but he's some kind of government agent, too. A Preventers operative, whatever the hell that really is. I'd like to think he'd back me even if he knew who we're really up against here, but still…_

Under the current circumstances, she couldn't really come up with a detailed plan for her situation. She would just have to play things by ear… and hope Heero would be willing to take her side if things fell through.

Focusing on her host, she couldn't help but smile despite her situation. He clearly wasn't afraid of a little action, not that she would've doubted that in light of his performance on the day they'd first met. His gaze was cool and focused, while the grip he had on his gun was calm and steady. He may have been up against an unknown enemy but he clearly wasn't about to let that shake him up.

"You really are quite a guy, Heero," she muttered under her breath.

Zigzagging to avoid, fire, she flew low to the ground and rushed into the tree line. The enemy was close behind her, but before it could attack Ryoko saw a swarm of familiar small cylinders materialize in the air, blue and white sparks flying between them. The hostile flew smack into the energy shield but did not penetrate it.

Ryoko smirked as she saw Ayeka leaning out from behind a nearby tree. "Never thought you'd be throwing up a barrier for me, Ayeka."

"Don't get used to it!" she snapped back, "I'm only doing this at sir Heero's request!"

"Speaking of Heero," said Ryoko, "Where is he?"

"Here," said a familiar male voice as a strong hand grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back into cover.

Ryoko turned around to face him, a mischievous smile on her face. "Feeling frisky, Heero? This isn't usually the sort of time that'd I'd be up for some fun, but I'd definitely make an exception for you."

Heero shook his head. "I need you to focus, Ryoko."

"Oh, all right," she replied, "but only because it's you. What's up?"

"I've got a plan to take this thing out," he said, "I need you to play decoy for it a little longer. Keep it close to the ground and in these trees. Can you do that?"

Ryoko nodded. "Sure. What's the rest of the plan?"

"I've got something in mind that I can do with Ayeka that should give us a chance to neutralize this thing," said Heero, "You just have to keep it occupied and eventually lure it towards us."

Ryoko gave him a confident smile. "Can do, Heero!"

….

Situated in the middle branches of a tree, Heero watched as Ryoko led the contact on a merry chase through the wooded area.

He looked down at Ayeka, who was standing at the foot of the tree. "Are you ready?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes, but… with all due respect, sir Heero, can we really count on Ryoko to pull this off?"

"She can do it," Heero replied confidently.

It was strange to have such trust in her. Heero had only known Ryoko for a few days, and he was sure that she was hiding something about the foe that they were facing, but that did not change the fact that he had faith in her ability to help him pull of his plan here.

Flashes of crimson and yellow light illuminated the area. Heero knew that they had to wrap this up soon. He was surprised that someone hadn't stumbled into the fight already.

 _I just hope our luck holds a little longer_ , he thought, _Director Une's going to have a fit if I can't contain this._

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka, "They're coming our way!"

Indeed they were; the energy blasts were definitely getting closer. Heero adjusted his position on his branch, ready to make his move as soon as he got his opening.

"Ayeka," he said, "On my mark, throw up the barrier."

Ayeka nodded. "Just say the word, sir Heero!"

His eyes narrowed as he watched Ryoko weave a zigzagging path through the trees with her foe hot on her heel. The slender turquoise-haired outlaw slipped between the vegetation with efficiency and grace, a marked contrast to how the enemy following her was barging their way through whatever was in their way. It was single-minded in its pursuit, which made it completely oblivious to the trap that Ryoko was leading it into. As the two of them rapidly approached Heero began a mental countdown.

 _Five… four… three… two… one…_

He then turned to Ayeka. "Now!"

Just as Ryoko passed by the tree Ayeka put up a barrier between her rival and the approaching hostile. The enemy slammed right into the crackling shield, but the energy field held together.

 _Here we go_ , thought Heero.

With that he dropped out of the tree and landed right on the hostile's back. Even braced for the impact, landing right on the metal power armor nearly knocked the wind out of Heero, but he managed to keep from sliding off the enemy. He gripped his foe by the shoulders, and not a moment too soon; it was already trying to shake him off.

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka.

"I'm fine," he replied as he held on, "Just keep that barrier up. Ryoko, be ready if this thing knocks me off!"

"Got it!" shouted Ryoko.

Studying their mechanical adversary as much as he could while trying to stay on top of it, Heero focused on the joints, looking for an opening that he could exploit. As his foe leaned forward he caught a glimpse of what he sought; a bundle of exposed wiring in the back of the neck.

Gripping the best he could with his left hand and his legs, Heero drew his knife with his right hand and jammed it into the opening. His foe tried to raise its head, but his knife was stuck between the neck plating good and tight. Convinced that he didn't have much time, Heero cut from left to right, severing the wiring.

Sparks flew, and a few small jolts ran through the Gundam pilot, but the gamble seemed to pay off; the enemy fell forward and landed flat on its mechanical face. Heero quickly withdrew his knife and hopped off the hostile, and as Ayeka and Ryoko came forward the three of them watched as it rolled back and forth on the ground, trying to right itself but accomplishing nothing but moving its head and torso around.

"Nicely done, sir Heero!" said Ayeka, beaming triumphantly at him.

"No kidding!" said Ryoko, a thrilled smile on her face, "You've got some moves, Heero!"

"Thanks," said Heero, his eyes still focused on their now-helpless foe, "Good thing whoever that is couldn't sense our trap."

"Sucks to be them!" said Ryoko, smirking as sparks of crimson energy crackled between her hands, "Now, let's finish them off!"

Heero held out his hand. "No. We're taking them alive."

Ryoko's eyes widened. "What? He just tried to kill us! He's a ruthless criminal!"

"I only have your word on that last part," said Heero, his eyes narrowing.

Ryoko folded her arms and pouted. "Hey, I thought you trusted me!"

"Why should he?" said Ayeka smugly, "You're as foul a rogue as they come, Ryoko, something I'm sure sir Heero is well aware of!"

Ryoko glared at the princess. "Why you… if you want to go at it now, bring it on!"

Ayeka gave a haughty laugh. "Oh, by all means! Let's have at it, you tramp!"

"Enough!" said Heero firmly, stepping between them, "Now is not the time for the two of you to indulge in this rivalry. There's still the matter of our new arrival to deal with, and I want you two to help me take them into custody."

Both women looked at him in surprise.

"Excuse me, sir Heero?" said Ayeka, blinking.

"We're supposed to help you _arrest_ this guy?" said Ryoko.

"Not arrest," said Heero, "I'm not charging them with anything until I've had a chance to talk to them."

"Oh, come on!" said Ryoko, "He just tried to kill us, remember?"

"Actually," said Ayeka thoughtfully, "They only turned hostile when they saw you, Ryoko. I wonder…"

"Oh, no," said Ryoko, stepping forward, crimson energy sparking in her hands, "No, no, no! I'm dealing with this guy right here and now!"

"Ryoko!" shouted Heero, grabbing her arm, "Stand down!"

Ryoko tried to shake him off, but his grip was too firm. "Damn it, Heero! Let go of me and let me do this!"

"No!" he said, "I'm not going to let you execute our prisoner!"

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka, "Stand back and let me trap this scoundrel!"

Heero shook his head, his eyes locked on to Ryoko's. "No, Ayeka. Keep an eye on the prisoner."

"Very well," she replied.

"Ryoko," Heero said firmly, "You're _not_ going to kill them."

There was a desperate look in her eyes. "Heero, _please_! You have to let me do it! They're too dangerous!"

"Dangerous to _us_ , or just _you_?" he said pointedly, "What's this really about, Ryoko?"

"I can't tell you!" she cried.

"Yes, you _can_ ," said Heero, "and I won't let go until you tell me the truth."

….

 _Damn it_ , Ryoko thought as he tightly held her arm, _I can't tell him! But… I…_

His grip on her arm was as unyielding as the look in his eyes. He would do everything in his power to stop her, and despite her desperation Ryoko could not help but admire him for it. He had gotten a taste of her power over the past few days, but even with the knowledge that she was more than a match for him he refused to back down. He was courageous and principled, and Ryoko knew that she could not bring herself to force him out of the way.

She'd only known him for a few days, but she already knew that she could never bring herself to hurt him, regardless of what the reason was.

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_ , she thought, _What is it about this guy?_

Sure, he was handsome and good in a fight, but Ryoko had met plenty of guys in her time that fit those two qualities. There was more to it than just looks and combat prowess. He had taken her in, and even though he'd been ordered to do so by his superiors he had done his utmost to treat her and Ayeka with courtesy and respect. More than that, he'd actually been _kind_ to her even though Ayeka had repeatedly stated that she was an outlaw. Sure, he'd fought against her impulsiveness and bad-girl nature, but that was something that Ryoko actually liked about him. She couldn't wrap him around her finger, try as she might. He may have been calm and withdrawn, but he was also fierce and independent. He didn't let anyone else define him; he truly was his own man.

 _It's no use_ , she thought, _I… I can't fight him…_

She sighed as she let the energy she'd been building up dissipate. As much as she might wish otherwise, Heero deserved the truth, and at this rate he would get it one way or another. It might as well be from her before Ayeka managed to put two and two together.

There was a slight change in the look in his eyes, a mixture of caution and gratitude as he carefully let go of her arm. "Ryoko?"

Despite the situation, she couldn't help but smile at him. "You win, Heero. I'll tell you the truth. No games, I promise."

"No games from _you_?" said Ayeka skeptically, "A promise from you is hardly to be taken at face value. I'm not holding my breath here, Ryoko."

Ryoko glared at her. "Hey, I mean it! I told Heero he'd get the truth, and that's exactly what I'll give him."

"Let's have it, then," said Heero, "Who are we dealing with here, and what's your connection to them?"

Before she was answered she was interrupted by a cry from Ayeka. "Sir Heero! The enemy…"

Ryoko and Heero turned to see the power armor that they'd been fighting begin to shift. For a moment Ryoko thought that it was getting back up, but after a couple seconds she realized that it was actually opening.

 _Well_ , she thought with resignation, _here we go. Now it all depends on the person that's in there…_

She saw Heero go for his gun and she put her hand on his shoulder. "You won't need it, Heero. Trust me."

He looked at her for a moment before holstering the weapon. "Okay."

Truth be told, she just didn't want Heero to get caught in the inevitable crossfire anymore than he'd already been. Ryoko was fully convinced that she'd need to call upon her power again real soon, and was already bracing for that eventuality. She still intended to let Heero have the truth, but how that would play out depended on the occupant of the power armor that they'd been fighting against.

Eventually she got a look at their foe as they climbed out of the disabled armor. Ryoko was a bit taken aback at their appearance. For starters, the occupant appeared to be a woman, and a relatively young one at that. She wore a skintight orange, black, and light purple flight suit that seemed to put emphasis on every curve of her athletic figure. Her brown skin was a sharp contrast with the curly blonde hair that was held up in a pony tail, and her light blue eyes looked way too wide and innocent for someone in her profession.

 _You've got to be kidding me_ , Ryoko thought as the woman stood up, _**This**_ _is who we were fighting against? She… she looks like a kid fresh out of the academy!_

The young woman looked at the three of them for a moment, her eyes blinking in stunned surprise, though if it was from her defeat or the fact that she had been spared Ryoko could not tell. Neither Heero nor Ayeka made a move; they seemed to be as surprised as Ryoko was, although Ryoko doubted it was for the same reasons as her.

After a few seconds Ryoko saw the dark-skinned woman go for the pistol at her waist. Ryoko chuckled as the weapon was pointed at her. She saw Heero immediately draw his gun in response, but Ryoko just held out her hand. The Preventers operative looked at her for a moment before putting his weapon away, and Ryoko turned back to the woman in front of them.

"Girl," she said, "if you think that popgun's going to work on me, you've got another thing coming."

"I-I'm warning you!" the blonde stammered, "G-get your hands in the air right now!"

"I would hardly say that you're in a position to be making demands, miss," said Ayeka, folding her arms.

Ryoko smirked. "What she said. Seriously, kid, put the gun down. No one's going to hurt you here as long as you don't do something stupid."

"You're outnumbered," said Heero, "and without your power armor you're not much of a threat to us. I recommend you stand down."

The girl shook her head. "I-I am Detective First Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu of the Galaxy Police! I demand that you surrender at once, space pirate Ryoko!"

Ryoko saw Ayeka's eyes widen. " _You're_ with the Galaxy Police?"

Heero was much more subdued in his reaction, but from the way his eyes blinked Ryoko could tell that he was a bit taken aback as well. "Wait… you're a cop?"

Mihoshi turned to him and nodded. "I-Indeed, and y-you need to step away from her right now b-before I charge you as her accomplice!"

"Hold on a minute," said Heero, glaring at the girl, " _You_ attacked _us_. Why should I believe that you're a police officer? Why did you attack us without warning? Why are you even on Earth to begin with?"

Mihoshi blinked in confusion. "Earth? Is that what this planet is called?"

"Yes," Heero answered, "and you still haven't answered any of my questions."

Ayeka stepped forward. "He is quite right. I am the imperial crown princess Ayeka Jurai, and I demand that you answer sir Heero's questions immediately!"

 _Well, now_ , thought Ryoko, _her royal bitchiness's pride and title may actually come in handy here._

"Do you have proof that you're a cop?" asked Heero, "Any sort of documentation or identification?"

Mihoshi nodded. "Yes!"

She patted her jumpsuit and rifled through the small pockets, her expression becoming one of concern. "Wait… where is it?"

She then turned to her disabled power armor and began rummaging through it. "It's gotta be in here…"

 _Really?_ , thought Ryoko, hands on her hips, _What kind of cop doesn't have their ID ready? The ones I've met always seemed to have a hard-on for waving their badges around at every chance they got._

Ryoko, Heero, and Ayeka looked on with bemusement as the dark-skinned woman poured over her armor, which apparently had quite a few storage compartments. An assortment of items began to pile up beside it, ranging from objects that looked like standard police equipment to some pretty random things.

Handcuffs, stun baton, flash grenades, a box of tissues, a field guide, a fashion magazine, some candy bars, a communicator, a few hair-ribbons, a pocket mirror… there was apparently all that and more, everything _but_ the documentation the girl was looking for. Ryoko actually found herself feeling a little bit sorry for her, which was definitely weird for her; she'd never thought she'd take pity on a cop.

"Miss," said Heero awkwardly, "are you _sure_ you're a police officer?"

Mihoshi looked up at him and nodded. "Absolutely! Just wait right there and I'll prove it!"

"It would seem that we have nothing better to do," Ayeka quipped.

 _No kidding_ , though Ryoko with a raised eyebrow, _How did a scatterbrain like this make it into the Galaxy Police?_

The girl's search continued long enough to give Ryoko hope that perhaps her identification had been destroyed in the fight, but eventually the girl jumped to her feet with a smile on her face and the documentation in hand.

"Found it!" she said triumphantly, holding up a small gray cylinder.

"That doesn't look like an ID to me," said Heero.

"Oh, right, I need to open it!" said Mihoshi.

She clicked the top of the cylinder. Two smaller cylinders extended from it, one from the bottom and one from the top right, forming an inverted L-shape. When they reached a certain length a few sparks flew between them before a holographic screen appeared, showing Mihoshi's face along with the logo of the Galaxy Police.

"There!" she said, "That's the proof than I'm an officer of galactic law!"

"And what about proof of Ryoko being a space pirate?" said Heero, "Can you present any documentation regarding that?"

Mihoshi nodded. "Yes. Give me just a sec. Ok… how did this thing work again?"

Ryoko and the others watched as she fiddled with the holographic screen in front of her, which was apparently more than just her officer's identification. Eventually it settled on a picture of Ryoko, one that she recognized as a very dated mug shot. She had to suppress a chuckle at the image of herself sticking her tongue out at the camera.

 _Man_ , she thought, _doesn't that feel like a lifetime ago…_

Ayeka folded her arms and shook her head. "Absolutely vulgar, Ryoko."

A list of charges was beneath the photo as well, one that Ryoko had assumed had been updated since the picture was taken. Mihoshi began reading from it.

"The infamous outlaw Ryoko," said Mihoshi, "is charged with multiple counts of piracy, robbery, fraud, smuggling, destruction of government property, defacement of cultural artifacts and icons, hijacking, theft of police and military property, vandalism and indecent exposure."

Both Ayeka and Heero looked at Ryoko and spoke as one. "Indecent exposure?"

Ryoko smirked. "Of all the ones that got onto that list, you single out _that_ one?"

"Frankly it does not surprise me in and of itself," said Ayeka, "but I am morbidly curious as to why it would be included on a list of much more serious charges."

"As am I," said Heero, looking both puzzled and mildly amused.

Ryoko smiled and put her arms under her breasts, pushing them up to emphasize her ample assets. "Well, you wouldn't believe how handy this body of mine is when I need to distract people."

Ayeka put her hand to her face. "I wish I hadn't asked."

Heero shook his head, although to Ryoko it looked like the young man was trying to suppress a smirk. He then turned back to Mihoshi.

"Is that the _only_ proof you carry of Ryoko's alleged crimes?" he asked the cop, his eyes narrowing.

Mihoshi nodded innocently. "Well, yes. It's all I need. Why do you ask?"

Heero shrugged. "I just thought that it would be a shame if something happened to it. You'd lose not only your proof that Ryoko's an outlaw, but also your police identification. That would put you in an awkward position."

He then looked at Ryoko, and she was surprised at the look in his eyes. It was subtle, but it was almost downright _devious_.

 _Am I imagining things? Is he seriously thinking what I_ think _he is?_

As if he could read her mind, the Preventers operative gave her a very small, almost imperceptible nod. Ryoko could not help but smile.

 _Hot damn_ , she thought as her heart pounded excitedly, _Heero Yuy, I just might've fallen in love with you!_

Crimson sparks flew around her right hand before a small jolt of energy shot forth, frying Mihoshi's hologram projector.

"Ow!" cried Mihoshi, waiving her singed hand as she dropped the device, "Hey! What was that for?"

Ryoko shrugged and gave her a faux-apologetic look. "Oh, I'm _so_ sorry, Mihoshi! I'm afraid that after a fight I sometimes can't completely control my power. A little spark like that's bound to fly loose from time to time. It was an accident, I swear!"

Ayeka glared at her. "I have a hard time believing that."

Mihoshi's eyes narrowed. "Are you _sure_ it was an accident?"

Ryoko smiled. "Absolutely! Come on, I wouldn't lie to an honest detective like you, would I?"

"Oh, yes you would," grumbled Ayeka.

Ryoko put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, you are just so _mean_ , Ayeka! Heero, back me up here. You saw that! You know it was an accident, right?"

Heero simply shrugged. "I couldn't say one way or another, Ryoko. I don't know enough about your powers to make that sort of judgment. I have no way to prove it was accidental or intentional."

 _Smooth operator, aren't you?_ , she thought with approval, _I really wish you'd shown me this side of yourself sooner, Heero!_

She turned back to Mihoshi, who was looking around in a state of growing panic. "Oh, no! What am I supposed to do?"

Ryoko shrugged. "Tough luck, kid."

"It is a rather unfortunate situation," said Ayeka, "Sir Heero, while I do realize that this woman was attacking us earlier, I do believe that she did so in ignorance of who you and I are. Surely we could at least provide some assistance, right?"

"Hey!" snapped Ryoko, "She was _shooting at us_ , remember? I'm not sticking my neck out for her!"

"We can't just leave her like this," said Heero.

"I agree," said a familiar female voice from behind them.

Turning around, Ryoko saw Sally Po and a group of Preventers agents making their way towards them. There was an amused smile on the woman's face, and Ryoko saw her eyes go back and forth between Heero and Mihoshi.

"Sally," said Heero, "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"We decided to cordon off the area before coming in here," she replied, "Good thinking on bringing the action over into the trees. This will help us contain the situation."

"What about her ship?" asked Heero, "It doesn't look anything like Ryoko's or Ayeka's. It may not be organic like them."

"It's not," said Ayeka, "Sir Heero, Lady Sally, while my knowledge of the Galaxy Police is not comprehensive, I can tell you with certainty that they do not use living starships. Miss Mihoshi's craft is a much more conventional design than the _Ryu-Oh_ or Ryo-Ohki."

Sally blinked in surprise. "Galaxy Police?"

Heero jerked his thumb towards Mihoshi. "Apparently she's a galactic officer of the law."

"Huh," said Sally as she looked at Mihoshi, "First Ryoko and Ayeka, and now her… I really hope this doesn't become a trend. Director Une's still dealing with the fallout from the last crash in Lake Genval. The media's going to go into a real frenzy about this."

"Uhm, excuse me?" said Mihoshi carefully, "Just who are all of you? What's going to happen to me?"

Sally folded her arms. "That's a very good question. Heero, your thoughts?"

"She's not a threat," Heero replied, "but I'd still like to question her."

Sally nodded. "Agreed. Miss Mihoshi, please come with us. I promise that you will not be harmed."

Mihoshi looked nervously between Sally and Heero, causing the latter to move forward and gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right," he said, "You need to understand that we're not used to… _visitors_ like you. You'll be well treated, and I promise that we won't hold you indefinitely."

Mihoshi smiled, looking encouraged by Heero's reassurances. "Okay!"

"This way," said Sally.

As Sally and her fellow operatives led Mihoshi away, Ryoko saw Heero turn to her and Ayeka. "Thank you both for your help here. Things would've been a lot worse without your aid."

Ayeka smiled. "Oh, think nothing of it, sir Heero! My powers are always at your command!"

Ryoko smiled too. "Anytime. It was actually kind of fun. Nice way to let off some steam, don't you think?"

Ayeka scowled at her. "Only a ruffian like you would consider a fight like that to be fun."

"As long as there's no fatalities, that's all that matters," said Heero, "Are you two hurt at all?"

Ayeka shook her head. "I'm quite well, sir Heero, though I appreciate your concern."

"I'm fine," said Ryoko, "Nothing to worry about."

Heero nodded. "Good. Let's head back to the car. We need to get to headquarters. It seems I have another interrogation to deal with."

As the three of them headed towards the parking lot Ryoko felt Heero grab her arm and pull her closer to him.

"Don't think you're off the hook just yet," he whispered, "I've still got questions for you."

Ryoko smiled. "I know, Heero. I haven't forgotten. I promised you the truth, and you'll get it."

Heero nodded. "I appreciate that. Thank you."

"Just do me one favor," she whispered, "Can we please have that conversation in private when the time comes?"

"Yes," he replied.

"What are you two mumbling about?" asked Ayeka.

Ryoko gave her best shot at an innocent-looking smile. "Oh, nothing."

Ayeka glared at her. "I find that hard to believe. If you're trying to ply your trampy charms on sir Heero now, I'll make you regret it!"

Ryoko folded her arms and smirked. 'You and what army, princess?"

"I hardly need one!" Ayeka snarled.

"Enough," said Heero firmly as he stepped in between the two of them, "Let's just get back to Preventers HQ, all right? I've had enough excitement for one day, and I would think that would go for the two of you as well."

Both women took a step back and nodded.

"Very well, sir Heero," said Ayeka.

"Sure thing," said Ryoko, "Actually, I'm kind of hungry. Any chance we grab a bite to eat first?"

"That does sound nice," said Ayeka, "Fighting like that is certainly one way to work up an appetite."

"You two can grab something from the cafeteria while I interview Mihoshi," Heero replied, "If you want anything better than that, you'll have to wait until we get back to my place later."

"That will be just fine," said Ayeka.

Ryoko nodded and smiled. "Looking forward to it, Heero."

….

"So," said Heero as he leaned back in his chair, "let me make sure I've got this straight. You were on patrol and picked up Ayeka's distress signal. You set your autopilot but forgot to adjust it for a proper landing, and that's why you crashed into the lake. When you got out you saw Ryoko, and that's why you attacked us. Is all that right?"

From the other side of the table, Mihoshi nodded. "Yes, that's it."

"And you're part of the Galaxy Police's Outland Sector Traffic Patrol Division," said Heero, "and that jurisdiction includes Earth. If it weren't for Ayeka's distress signal you wouldn't have come by here at all. Is that right as well?"

"Correct," she said nervously, "Uhm… what else do you want to know?"

 _A lot_ , he thought, _but I don't think you really have the answers I'm looking for…_

For what it was worth, he didn't think that Mihoshi was lying to him. She seemed knowledgeable enough about Galaxy Police that Heero was willing to believe her, and he hadn't forgotten the identification that he'd let Ryoko destroy. The fact that she hadn't actually come to Earth specifically to hunt down Ryoko was good news; it gave him more room to handle the situation, especially where Director Une and Sally were concerned.

"So," said Mihoshi, "how long am I going to be held here?"

"Not too much longer," Heero replied, "We just want to make sure we learn all that we can from you. You have to understand that before today we had no idea that your organization even existed."

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, that's okay. It's not that big a deal."

Heero was taken aback by her casual reply. He would think that an organization like hers would consider first contact with another species to be a pretty big deal. If they were a galactic law enforcement group then they should've had protocols of some kind that they drilled into their officers, or at least Heero assumed they would. Was he mistaken in that belief, or did this woman simply not remember them?

From what he'd seen from Mihoshi so far, he actually wouldn't be too surprised if the latter was the case.

He sighed as he stood up. "I see. Thank you for your cooperation in this."

"Sure!" said Mihoshi brightly, "You seem like a nice guy. Are you going somewhere?"

"Just out to check on a few things," he said as he headed towards the door of the interrogation room, "I'll be back in a little bit. If you need something to eat or drink, just press the button by the door and an officer will answer."

Leaving the room and closing the door behind him, Heero leaned back against a nearby wall and sighed. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago he'd been enjoying a walk around Lake Genval with Ryoko and Ayeka, and now here he was interrogating another lovely alien woman.

"What's next?" he muttered, "I've got a space pirate, an imperial princess, and a galactic cop landing right outside the capital all within just a matter of days. I'm not sure how many more visitors we can take…"

Heero was aware that Director Une and Sally were once again in full damage control mode. He didn't know all the details, but apparently the more conventional nature of Mihoshi's ship as opposed to the organic craft used by Ryoko and Ayeka was actually making things easier for Preventers; Director Une was using the cover story that the vessel was an ESUN prototype that had suffered an engine malfunction.

 _As far as a smokescreen goes, that one's not too bad_ , thought Heero, _It should help to deal with most people. There's always the hardcore conspiracy theorists who won't buy it, but no one really takes them seriously._

Figuring out a good set of lies to feed the media wasn't Heero's concern. His was the pilot of that crashed vessel, and he had to admit he was at something of a loss on that front. Mihoshi had been very forthcoming during the interrogation, even quite friendly. She struck him as far too innocent-looking for an officer of the law, but in a way that wasn't a bad thing. Her cheerfulness and optimism despite her situation was actually refreshing, although Heero could also tell that she was more than a little scatterbrained. He wondered if she'd been assigned to traffic patrol in a remote region of space by her superiors as an excuse to just get her out of the way.

Heero shook his head. As long as Mihoshi wasn't hostile, why her superiors had assigned her to patrol out this way didn't really matter. From what he'd learned from Ryoko and Ayeka Earth was in the cosmic backwater as it were, and nothing he'd heard from Mihoshi had disabused him of the notion.

He would figure out what to do with Mihoshi later, assuming that Director Une and Sally hadn't already come up with a plan. Heero knew that he could use a break after everything that had happened today, but there was still his unfinished business with Ryoko to attend to.

 _I need to know more about who she is and what she's done_ , he thought, _She seems like a good woman, even if she is an outlaw, but still… I have to learn about what she's accused of. After what I've done in the past I'm hardly in any position to be passing judgment on her, but still… the nature of her crimes and how she went down that path will have to factor in with how I deal with her going forward._

Deciding he might as well get it over with, he started down the hallway, heading for the cafeteria. With her abilities and free spirit it was quite possible that Ryoko had snuck off to another part of Preventers headquarters by now, but Heero wanted to believe that she was willing to keep her word to him and wouldn't run away from this reckoning.

When he arrived he was pleased to see both Ryoko and Ayeka still in the cafeteria. They'd clearly finished their meals some time ago and were now simply lounging around. Ayeka looked bored while Ryoko actually appeared somewhat nervous to Heero, although she hid it well from the Jurai princess. Both women perked up when they saw Heero enter the room.

"Sir Heero!" said Ayeka, "How good of you to come see us here! If you're in need of refreshment I'd be more than happy to get you something."

"Hey, Heero," said Ryoko, looking pleased to see him even if she was a little anxious, "What's up?"

Heero looked at the beautiful outlaw. "Ryoko, I'd like a word… in private."

Ryoko nodded. "Sure. I figured this would happen sooner or later."

"Sir Heero?" asked Ayeka, looking confused.

"Please, stay here, Ayeka," said Heero, "I don't mean to be rude, but there are some matters that I need to discuss with Ryoko alone."

Ayeka seemed worried, but she did not protest. "As you wish, sir Heero."

"Thank you," said Heero.

He nodded at Ryoko, and he led her out of the cafeteria and through the halls of the facility. They took an elevator to the top floor, and then they went out onto the observation deck.

"This is nice," said Ryoko as put her arms against the railing and looked out at Brussels, "I didn't think a place like this would have something like this."

"Preventers may be an organization that keeps secrets, but the management knows that it can't keep employees cooped up in the building," said Heero as he leaned against the railing next to her, "Having an open place like this gives people a place to come to in order to relax a bit on their breaks. The fresh air can help clear one's head… and it gives a great view of the city."

Ryoko nodded and smiled. "I'll say. I'm glad I touched down near here and that I get to stay with you, Heero. Otherwise who knows what part of this planet I'd be stuck on now?"

Heero nodded. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself here, but… I didn't bring you up here to admire the view, Ryoko."

"I know," she replied, and to her credit she looked him right in the eyes, "So… where do you want to start, Heero?"

"When Ayeka was chasing you into the Sol System," said Heero, "Why were you really running from her?"

Her answer was blunt and immediate. "I robbed a branch of the Bank of Jurai."

 _Well_ , he thought, _it looks like she really is serious about being honest here._

"All right, then," he said, "Why was Ayeka chasing you rather than the Galaxy Police?"

Ryoko shrugged. "She was in the neighborhood, and she's far more stubborn than those guys are. When I came into your star system I was just looking for a place to shake her off and lay low for a while."

Heero nodded. "I see. And the list of charges that Mihoshi read off earlier?"

Ryoko sighed and gave him an apologetic look. "All true, but… look, it's not that simple. It's fine for Ayeka and Mihoshi to think things are black and white; one's a princess and the other's a cop. They can try to judge me all they want, but they know nothing about how I got here. Heero… I know what I've done isn't good, and since you're a government agent I know it's hard for you to sympathize, but…"

"You'd be surprised with what I can sympathize with," Heero interrupted, "Ryoko, there's a lot more to me than my occupation. You're right; things aren't black and white. Everyone has a story, regardless of what side of the law they're on… and I want to hear yours."

Ryoko's eyes widened in shock. "You… you're really serious, aren't you?"

Heero nodded. "I'll hear you out, and I'll reserve judgment until the end. You gave me your word that you would tell the truth, and I am willing to place faith in you, Ryoko. Tell me about you, how you became who you are, why you walk the outlaw's path. Do that for me… and you might just learn something about me in the process."

For a moment all she could give him in reply was stunned silence. Finally she shook her head, and there was an amused smile on her face.

"You really are something else, you know that?" she said, "I've met a lot of guys, but none of them were anything quite like you. People never want to hear the story behind it all… you're the first to ask."

"I'm complicated," Heero replied, "and I know that I'm not the only one. I didn't become who I am overnight, and I'm sure the same goes for you."

"Well," said Ryoko, "I wouldn't exactly say I'm complicated, but there is more to me than most people think."

"So," said Heero, "where did you want to start?"

He saw her look out at the city for a moment, and he was surprised by the uncharacteristically somber expression on her face. "Heero… did you ever know your parents?"

The Gundam pilot was caught off guard by her question, and it took him a moment to formulate a reply. "Well… I don't know if he qualifies as a parent, but there was a man that raised me for a time. He died when I was about eight, and… well, let's just say what he taught me isn't what most parents or guardians want their children to learn."

She nodded and looked genuinely interested. However, apparently Ryoko had decided to keep things on topic rather than go into Heero's past.

"At least you had that much," she said, "Maybe not conventional parents, and maybe you didn't have him for long, but a guardian like that's more than I had. The only one that was with me when I was a kid was Ryo-Ohki."

Heero was confused. "You've had your ship since you were a child?"

Ryoko nodded. "Yes, but she's more than just a ship, Heero. You've only seen one form of Ryo-Ohki; she's got another, and it's much cuter than her ship form. You'll see what I mean when she recovers."

Heero nodded. "All right. Where were you and Ryo-Ohki? Did you know _anything_ about your parents… or any family at all?"

Ryoko shook her head. "Not a thing. As for where we were, it was some backwater planet off in the ass-end of the galaxy. Not as pretty as Earth, and definitely not as friendly. I had nothing apart from Ryo-Ohki. No home, no money, no friends or family… I'm no shrink, but I'm pretty sure that's not a good way for a child to start her life."

"I see," said Heero quietly.

 _I have a feeling I know where this is going_ , he thought grimly, _After Odin Lowe died, I was on my own, but Ryoko had to face that even earlier than I did…_

"Ryo-Ohki and I found ourselves in a city," Ryoko continued, "It was centered around a spaceport, and even though the planet was a backwater it still got its share of traffic. A lot of it was black market; smugglers, slavers, pirates, you name it. There was a law enforcement presence out there too, but they were so corrupt and twisted that there wasn't really much of a difference between them and the outlaws. Hell, at first I thought that those cops were just another gang, and as I grew older I realized that they might as well have been."

"How did you survive?" asked Heero.

"The only way I could," she replied, "I became a thief. I stole food, water… anything to help me and Ryo-Ohki survive another day. Turns out she was a good partner in that; she's a lot smarter than she looks."

"I'm sure your powers helped with that as well," said Heero.

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, but I had to figure out how to use them first. It was touch and go for a little while, but eventually I got the hang of things. Now I can use them as naturally as I breath… although I'm still not entirely sure if I've figured out everything that I'm truly capable of."

"So you could come up with more tricks in addition to the ones you've still got hidden up your sleeves?" asked Heero, raising an eyebrow, "I hope you'll at least give me a warning before you try them out."

Ryoko smirked. "No promises."

The two of them were quiet for a moment before Heero gave her a nod. "I imagine word about your abilities got around eventually."

"Yeah," Ryoko replied, "and I became pretty popular with some of the gangs because of them. They kept trying to recruit me, both as a thief and a fighter; I gained something of a reputation for brawling pretty early on. A lot of real scumbags saw me as a pretty back-alley girl and thought I'd be an easy target for some 'fun'. They wised up real fast after I damn near knocked their heads off."

"So what did you do with your new popularity?" asked Heero, "A reputation can be a big asset in the underworld."

Ryoko nodded, looking impressed. "Not bad, Heero. Yeah, word about my skills and powers spread pretty fast, and I was able to use that to carve out a bit of a freelance career for myself. I'd take jobs for this gang or that, whether it was stealing something or picking a fight with their rivals. I never committed to one gang; Ryo-Ohki and I worked better on our own. Things were… well, I can't exactly say that they were good given that I had established myself as being on the wrong side of the law, but as far as a petty career criminal goes I had a pretty decent gig going."

"Sounds like it," said Heero, "So what made you go from that to a space pirate wanted by both the Empire of Jurai and the Galaxy Police?"

"Believe it or not, necessity," said Ryoko, "I had to bail on that planet, and in a hurry."

"What happened?" asked Heero.

Ryoko sighed. "I defended myself. I was in a bar after a job, looking to unwind. Ryo-Ohki was right there with me; she may not look like it, but she enjoys a good drink too."

 _A living starship with a taste for booze_ , thought Heero, _I hope that thing doesn't fly drunk._

"Anyway," she continued, "This fat asshole with a bunch of gaudy jewelry and no sense tried to hit on me. I'd shaken off enough of his kind in the past that I figured it'd be no big deal to do the same thing again. He had four big bodyguards with him, but nothing that I couldn't take care of if things got rough."

"I'm assuming things did get rough," said Heero.

Ryoko nodded. "The scumbag didn't like being told no, and he had one hell of an ego. He had his muscle try to take me for his 'amusement', but I knocked them all flat on their asses. That was when the fat guy pulled a gun and said he was head of the Black Demon Syndicate, and that if I didn't come with him to his penthouse he was going to make the short remainder of my life a very painful one."

"Black Demon Syndicate?" asked Heero, "Are they a major player in the galactic underworld?"

Ryoko laughed. "Major player? They wish. They're small fries compared to the hardcore, galactic-level organized crime groups. No, these guys were backwater thugs. They had a strong operation going on the world that I was on, though, so I guess that you could call them a big fish in a small pond."

Heero nodded. "I've met the type; gangs who think that owning some guns and having a few corrupt cops on their payroll makes them part of the big leagues. They're nothing compared to the high-end players in the underworld… although the mafias and cartels I've dealt with out here would really be small time compared to what you've seen. So, what happened?"

"Back then I was still learning how to really use my powers effectively," she said, "I was pretty good with attacking, but at the time I didn't know that I could also use my abilities to create a barrier. So when the guy drew on me, I blasted him right in the chest. Left a nice smoking hole where his heart was. The other guards tried to shoot me, but they went down pretty quickly too. Nailed three of them in the chests with energy shots, and I took the fourth's head clean off; probably should've told you earlier that I can also make an energy sword."

"Yes," said Heero dryly, "that would've been good information to know."

Ryoko shrugged. "Anyway, turned out that two of the guy's bodyguards were actually cops moonlighting as hired muscle. In the space of a few seconds I'd made myself enemies of both the largest crime group on the planet and the police. It didn't matter that I had killed them in self-defense; cops don't look kindly on those who kill their own, even if the ones who die are crooked. Hell, that whole force was rotten to the core; doubt there was a single honest cop in there. So I had to get the hell out of there."

"It's a good thing you had Ryo-Ohki with you," said Heero.

Ryoko smiled. "Yeah, well, here's the thing; at the time, I actually didn't know that she was a living starship."

"Really?" asked Heero, "Then how did you get out of there?"

"It was strange," she said, "I knew Ryo-Ohki was smart, but that day… it was like she'd been _waiting_ for an excuse to leave that planet. She started running towards the edge of town, and I didn't know what else to do but follow her. For a moment I was afraid that she'd decided to abandon me, but she always made sure that I was able to keep her in sight. When we got to the outskirts she just jumped up into the air and transformed into the ship that you first saw me on."

"It must've been quite an experience," said Heero, "Seeing that for the first time, I mean."

Ryoko nodded. "You're telling me. I was completely blown away. I didn't exactly have time to stand there and admire her, though; the cops and the rest of the Black Demon Syndicate were right on our tails. A red light shot out of Ryo-Ohki, and before I knew it I was aboard her. Then she shot out a bunch of energy beams and fried the guys chasing us before we headed for orbit."

"Did you have any idea where you'd go from there?" asked Heero.

Ryoko shook her head. "Not a clue. I mean, I had lived in that city all my life until then. I'd hung around the spaceport enough to know the names of a few other planets out there, but I didn't know the first thing about navigating space or where I should head to. I know now that Ryo-Ohki can fly herself, but at the time I didn't, and I started freaking out pretty quickly. Plus, we hadn't packed any food or water."

"Well," said Heero, "clearly you didn't starve to death. How'd you get out of that situation?"

"We found a ship at coming in at the edge of the system," said Ryoko, looking down nervously, "It was a big bulk transport, but it didn't have any escorts and the weapons weren't much to look at. Ryo-Ohki and I were desperate for supplies, and the ship looked like an easy target, so…"

"Let me guess," said Heero, "That transport became the target of your first act of piracy?"

Ryoko nodded and gave him a guilty smile. "Yeah…"

"So how did it go?" asked Heero, "You're first ship-taking, I mean."

Ryoko shrugged. "Ryo-Ohki did most of the work at first. She took out the few guns the ship had and crippled its engines in just a few seconds. She did it completely on her own; I didn't even know how to fly her at that point, let alone use her in a fight. After I was sure that the ship wasn't going anywhere I told the crew to surrender, and lucky for me they did. Then I boarded the ship and found out that it was a food transport that belonged to the Empire of Jurai."

"Jurai?" said Heero, "I thought you said that the system you were in was out in the middle of nowhere."

Ryoko nodded. "It was, but Jurai still had limited trade connections with the local government. I didn't really take much from the ship; just enough food for Ryo-Ohki and I to survive off of for a while. I did take a bunch of navigation data from their ship's computer, though; I was trying to find a planet where Ryo-Ohki and I could lay low for a while and figure out what to do next."

"What happened to the crew?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing.

Ryoko smiled. "Relax, Heero. I told you that they surrendered, remember? I can be mean, but when someone gives up the fight I tend to let them go unless they've _really_ pissed me off. They still had communications and life support, and while that planet I'd just left might've been a dump they still would've sent a ship out to help the crew. I just took what I needed and got out of there."

Heero nodded. "All right, then. Where did you end up?"

"Another planet not too far from the system I'd just left," said Ryoko, "It was more populated though, so not quite as much of a dump as the last one. By the time I got there, though, the word had already gotten out to the authorities about a new space pirate on the scene… one that had been stupid enough to actually give her name to the crew of the ship she'd just robbed."

Heero shook his head. "What were you thinking?"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Hey, it was my first time being a pirate! I didn't know what the hell I was doing, so excuse me if I made a few amateur mistakes! I had to wing the whole thing, and I was still hopped up on adrenaline from that mess with the syndicate boss and his thug cop bodyguards!"

Heero sighed. "Fine, then. So, did they arrest you as soon as you landed?"

Ryoko shook her head. 'No, but it was a pretty close thing. They didn't know that Ryo-Ohki could transform, which gave me an advantage. I managed to find a place in the city to lay low for a while, but… well, it wasn't like I could find legal employment."

Heero nodded. "So how did you survive there?"

"Same way I did on the last planet," said Ryoko, "I stole what I needed to live. Unfortunately for me, the cops on that world weren't quite as incompetent and corrupt as the ones on the last. The Galaxy Police also had a small presence out that way, and it wasn't long until I had my first run-in with them. I didn't stay on that planet for too long; I'd gotten plenty of navigation data from the Jurai transport that I'd attacked earlier, so there were plenty of other worlds I could run to. That was really where my pirate career took off. I flew around the galaxy, raiding ships and robbing planets."

Heero folded his arms. "How long until it became about more than just survival?"

Ryoko smirked. "Can't get anything past you, can I?"

"You do remember the list of charges that Mihoshi read earlier, right?" Heero replied, "More than a few of them wouldn't have been on that list if you were just breaking the law to stay alive."

Ryoko sighed. "You're right. I won't try to brush it all over and say it was only about making it to the next day alive. I was _good_ at stealing and being a pirate, and I got better every time I committed a crime. I started figuring that if I had to live on the wrong side of the law, why not go for bigger scores? Still, I'm not a monster. I've got rules, Heero."

"Such as?" Heero pressed.

"I stick to going after people that can afford it," said Ryoko, "Governments and big corporations, mostly, along with some private rich slobs. I may not rob from the rich and give to the poor, but I also don't target the poor and wring every last bit of money out of them like a lot of other outlaws out there. I've gotten in fights, and I've killed, but I don't target unarmed people. Hell, a lot of the targets I've gone after are actually other syndicates who attacked me for pirating on their turf. I'd say the Galaxy Police actually owes me one for taking out some of those guys!"

Heero shook his head. "I'm sure the Galaxy Police disagree with you there."

Ryoko chuckled. "That's because they can't pull the damn sticks out of their ass. They really need to lighten up."

"They're cops," Heero replied, "They're required to go after all lawbreakers, regardless if some of those did the Galaxy Police an indirect favor."

Ryoko smirked. "So you at least agree that I helped them out, whether they'll admit it or not? I'll take that."

"Fine," said Heero, "How did you first run into Ayeka? From the way you two act around each other I take it the fight up in orbit wasn't the first time you two had met."

Ryoko shook her head. "Nope, that was just our latest battle. My pirating career took me into Jurai territory pretty early, and I had the rotten luck of robbing a museum while Ayeka was touring it. That was our first encounter."

"You couldn't wait until closing time to do your heist?" Heero deadpanned.

"It _was_ closing time," said Ryoko, "My plan was to hit the place during the shift change, when the afternoon guards were heading out and the night watch was coming in. Unfortunately for me Ayeka chose just that moment to arrive. Apparently she was bringing in some ancient statue of some old royal or another to donate to the museum."

"And you didn't know ahead of time that that was going to happen?" asked Heero, raising an eyebrow.

Ryoko folded her arms. "For your information, I did my homework to prep for that heist. I knew a member of the royal family would be visiting the museum, but it was supposed to be the following evening. It's not my fault they changed plans!"

Heero shrugged. "Whatever you say. I'm sure Ayeka was less than thrilled to find you robbing the place."

"That's an understatement," Ryoko replied, "At that time I already had a bit of a reputation, especially since a few of the ships I'd hit before then belonged to the Empire. My plans were shot to hell, so I turned the job into a smash-and-grab. Wasn't that hard to get what I was after with brute force; it was a necklace with some _really_ valuable gems in it. The guards were pretty easy to deal with too; knocked most of them out cold before they knew what hit them. Ayeka, though… she may be a royal bitch, but she's a _tough_ royal bitch, I'll give her that much. We tore that place apart. I would've won eventually, but the cops were on their way and I had to split. That fight's part of the reason why 'defacement of cultural artifacts and icons' was on my rap sheet. They had some really nice pieces in there before Ayeka and I had our little rumble."

"Remind me not to take you two to any museums," said Heero dryly.

Ryoko gave Heero a playful punch on the shoulder. "Aw, come on, Heero! I _love_ museums! You never know what you're going to find… and what'll be worth stealing!"

"Definitely not taking you to any museums," Heero muttered.

"You just gotta ruin my fun," Ryoko pouted.

"You're under my supervision," Heero reminded her, "If your idea of fun involves museum heists and breaking artifacts then I'm afraid you're going to be in for some disappointment."

Ryoko shrugged and smirked. "Oh well. I can find other ways to get my kicks."

 _I don't doubt that_ , Heero thought wearily, _and I'm sure you'll give me a headache trying to keep you from getting out of hand._

"Anyway," said Ryoko, "That was where our little feud kicked off. Since then Ayeka and I have been bumping into each other all over the galaxy, and each time we get into a fight. I was surprised when she rammed me during that orbital fight; she can be stubborn, but she's usually not _that_ crazy when it comes to trying to catch me."

"Your bank job from earlier must've really pissed her off," said Heero.

Ryoko shook her head. "I doubt that was it. What I got from that heist was small change compared to some of my past jobs."

"I'll take your word on that," said Heero, "Any other rivals out there that I should worry about?"

Ryoko looked down. "Well… there's a bounty hunter. Name's Nagi. We've crossed paths quite a few times out there, and she's pretty good in a fight. I doubt she knows that I'm out this way, but… well, she's pretty determined to settle out score."

"How dangerous is she?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing.

"She's very skilled at combat and hunting," Ryoko replied, "but she's got rules. She doesn't endanger civilians to catch a target, so if she comes out here you don't have to worry about her putting innocent people at risk. She wants my bounty, but she also wants a one-on-one fight with me. It really gets under her skin when a target slips through her fingers."

 _So there's another lethal woman out there in the galaxy that could come my way at some point_ , he thought, _I just hope that Ryoko's right about this Nagi not knowing that she's on Earth. I've got enough to worry about here as is._

Ryoko turned back to him and smiled. "Well, that's my life story in a nutshell. If you want more details on some of the heists I've done or the ships I've hit I'll share them with you, but that's really the gist of it right there."

Heero shook his head. "That won't be necessary."

Ryoko nodded. "All right. So… what's the verdict?"

It was a lot to take in. Heero appreciated Ryoko's candor, and he felt that she had been honest with him, but that did not change the fact that she was admitting that the charges listed by Mihoshi were true. She had confessed to being a criminal, and one of galactic proportions to boot. Mihoshi was justified in trying to arrest her, as was Ayeka in chasing her out to the Sol System.

However, Heero felt a very strong sympathy for Ryoko despite her criminal past… or maybe _because_ of it. She'd been born into very trying circumstances, and her early lawbreaking was done out of the simple desire to survive. She hadn't been given a real chance to have a normal, honest life. If she'd been given a different start to life it was quite possible that she could've gone down a completely separate path from what she was on now.

Heero also found himself thinking about his own past and how it compared with Ryoko's. He'd been on the battlefield from a very early age, and while he had chosen to continue down that path after his guardian Odin Lowe had died that did not change the fact that Heero's actions were justifiably considered terrorism by the now-defunct United Earth Sphere Alliance and OZ. In a way, Heero felt that his actions were harsher than Ryoko's had been. Yes, he'd been fighting to free the colonies from the iron grip of their oppressors, but he knew that that could not completely absolve him of his sins.

Far from it.

 _I may be beyond absolution_ , he thought, _but Ryoko… she still has a chance. I can't deny her that._

Ryoko put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Heero? What's up?"

He turned to her and studied her carefully. A combination of hope and worry was in her amber eyes, and she looked unusually tense. What Heero said next would mean a great deal to her, and the Gundam pilot knew he had to put careful thought into it.

He looked out at the city for a moment before turning back to her. "Well, the way I see it, you were completely beyond Preventers' jurisdiction when you committed your crimes, or that of any other law enforcement agency on Earth for that matter. The only written proof of your actions was destroyed earlier today… and while Sally Po and Director Une may be my superiors, I don't have to tell them about your crimes if I feel that you're not a threat."

Ryoko smiled at him. "Really? So you'll let me keep staying with you?"

Heero nodded. "You're under my observational custody, along with Ayeka. It's my responsibility to look after you and make sure that you stay out of trouble. Your powers do make my job somewhat challenging, but I am still willing to give it a shot. Besides, even if we wanted to arrest you, no prison we have could hold someone with your abilities. Mihoshi's ship is trashed too, so it's not like she can take you back to the Galaxy Police or Jurai. You can remain under my roof, Ryoko. What you shared with me about your past… that will remain in my confidence unless you give me reason to disclose it."

Ryoko was positively beaming now, and before Heero could react she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best, Heero! I won't make you regret this, I promise!"

She seemed surprisingly earnest, and Heero decided that he'd made the right call here. He could also feel his cheek warming ever so slightly from where she had kissed him. _That_ had taken him completely off guard, and he had no idea how he was supposed to respond to that.

After a moment he gave Ryoko a nod. "All right. I'm trusting you here, Ryoko."

"Don't worry, Heero," she replied, "I know I don't seem like the kind of girl that takes this sort of thing seriously, but I swear that I do. I won't let you down."

"Okay," said Heero, "Come on, let's head back inside. I'm sure Ayeka's worried, and I still need to talk to my superiors about what to do with Mihoshi."

"As long as she doesn't end up staying with us," said Ryoko, "You're already making me share an apartment with a Juraian princess. The last thing I need is a cop thrown in there."

Heero nodded. "I'm sure we'll be able to work something out."

….

Standing in the Director's office, Heero found himself fighting to keep his composure as Lady Une told him what would be done with Mihoshi. Behind the Director Heero saw Sally, her arms folded and an amused smile on her face.

 _Damn you, Sally_ , he silently fumed, _I should've known that you would talk the Director into this…_

Sally chuckled. "What's the matter, Heero? Cat got your tongue?"

His jaw set and his eyes narrowing, Heero was careful with his response as he turned to Lady Une. "With all due respect, Director, there has to be another way to resolve this situation."

Lady Une smiled, clearly enjoying having him on the defensive. "I've discussed this extensively with Sally, and I believe that this is the best solution to our dilemma. It's already worked quite well with Ryoko and Ayeka, so I don't see why we need to change our approach here."

"Come on, Heero," said Sally, "I'm sure you can find some room for her."

"My place isn't meant for so many people," Heero replied, trying to think of a way out of the mess he'd found himself in.

"It's got space and you know it," Sally shot back smugly, "Come on, Heero, what's this _really_ about?"

"What this is _really_ about," said Heero, "is that you've already got me playing host to two women that are not from this world."

"Which would make you our resident expert in the matter," said Lady Une with a knowing smirk.

Heero wanted to kick himself; he'd walked right into that one.

"What would you have us do, Heero?" asked Sally, "We can't just hold her here at headquarters, and the list of people that we can trust someone like her with is quite short. You've only had Ayeka and Ryoko as your guests for about a week, but you've already proven yourself to be quite adept at handling them and keeping their true identities relatively under wraps. You're really the only candidate we've got for this."

 _It's useless_ , Heero thought in resignation, _I'm not getting out of this one._

He still had to ask Lady Une that one question, though. "Is this an order, Director?"

Lady Une nodded. "Yes, it is, Heero."

Heero sighed. "Can I at least get a cost of living adjustment then?"

Sally nodded and gave a small laugh. "I'm sure we can work something out with payroll."

….

Leaning back in her chair, Ryoko smirked at Ayeka. "You can scowl all you want, princess, but I'm not telling you what happened between me and Heero earlier."

Ayeka folded her arms, refusing to let up with her glare. "You evil witch... what manner of deceit did you concoct for sir Heero? What foul snare did you lay for him? I demand to know at once!"

Ryoko chuckled. "You're not in the Empire anymore, remember? You don't get to make demands of anyone out here, Ayeka."

"Well, _you're_ still a criminal!" she huffed, "You can't be trusted regardless of whether you're in Juraian territory or not! The fact that sir Heero still deems you worthy of private conversation is testament only to his charity and magnanimity, not to any of your numerous loathsome qualities!"

Ryoko glared at her. "All right, Ayeka, there's only so much of your high and mighty bullshit that I'm willing to take! You want to throw down? Come on, let's have at it!"

"Oh, absolutely!" Ayeka snarled, "Now's as good a time as any to settle our score!"

The two women leapt to their feet, energy crackling around them. It was fortunate that the cafeteria was empty, because at the moment the last thing either of them cared about was potential witnesses or collateral damage.

"Any last words?" asked Ayeka with a vicious smirk on her face.

"You wish," Ryoko shot back.

" _I_ wish that I could leave you two alone for five minutes without worrying about whether or not you two will try to level the building," said a strong and familiar male voice.

Both women turned in surprise as they saw Heero enter the room. He wasn't alone; trailing behind him was none other than Mihoshi.

Ayeka immediately bowed. "Sir Heero! My sincerest apologies!"

Ryoko shrugged. "Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, what's _she_ doing here?"

Mihoshi put her fingers together and looked at Heero. "Uhm… they're not going to be mad at me, are they?"

"Hard to say," Heero replied, looking at Ryoko and Ayeka, "It's irrelevant either way. The decision's been made, and we have to abide by it."

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. "What decision are you referring to, sir Heero?"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Okay, what's going on?"

Mihoshi turned to Heero and smiled sheepishly. "Uhm… could you tell them?"

Heero nodded, and Ryoko didn't like the way he did it. He seemed resigned to something, and Ryoko had a sinking feeling she knew what it was.

 _Oh, no_ , she thought, _Don't tell me…_

"Ryoko," said Heero, "Ayeka… Mihoshi will be coming with us. She's being placed under my observational custody, just as you two were."

Mihoshi waved at them. "So, I guess we'll be living together now. This'll be fun!"

Ryoko and Ayeka's jaws dropped simultaneously. The two women would rarely agree on anything, but right now their thoughts were most definitely one and the same, and they expressed those thoughts quite clearly.

" _What the_ _ **fuck**_ _?_ "

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Mihoshi: Hi everyone! Well, I'm settling in at Heero's! He's such a nice guy, and I'm going to thank him by cooking a meal for him!_

 _Ryoko: Hey Heero, you might want to watch out; I think she's about to burn down the kitchen._

 _Heero: I'll get the fire extinguisher._

 _Ayeka: Miss Mihoshi, may I kindly suggest that you refrain from future cooking endeavors? We all live here now, and it would be most unfortunate if sir Heero's apartment caught fire._

 _Mihoshi: Oh, okay! I'll try cleaning instead!_

 _Ryoko: Somehow I don't think this is going to end well…_

 _Heero: Mihoshi's... peculiarities are the least of our concerns right now. Looks like we've got another visitor._

 _Ayeka: Oh my, could it be? Sasami, is that you?_

 _Sasami: Ayeka! I've missed you, big sister!_

 _Ryoko: Great, another royal. Like we didn't have enough of those around here._

 _Mihoshi: Aw, she's adorable! Can we keep her?_

 _Ayeka: My sister is not a pet, Mihoshi!_

 _Heero: No, but we might've picked up one of those too. Anyone know what this cat-rabbit thing is? And where did all the carrots go?_

 _Ryo-Ohki: Meow!_

 _Ryoko: Next time, on Chapter Five: No Need For Princesses and Pets!_

 _Sasami: It's a pleasure to meet you, mister Heero!_

 _Heero: I guess it could be worse. She seems nice enough… and she's kind of cute._

 _Ryoko and Ayeka give death glares:_ _ **Sasami!**_

 **Author's Notes:** Well, there you go; next chapter brings two of our most adorable cast members to the stage! Will Sasami be able to bring just a tiny bit of tranquility and gentleness to Heero's rather hectic life now? Not if Ryoko and Ayeka have anything to say about it! Then you've got Mihoshi, who just wants to help, bless her heart! Too bad she's got all the common sense of a drunken bunny. And Ryo-Ohki… well, she's Ryo-Ohki. Enough said.

Ryoko's past in this story is not the same as what is found in the Tenchi Muyo franchise. It's also incomplete, although that's no fault of Ryoko's. She wasn't lying to Heero; she's just unaware of some key details. Those details will be revealed later on in the story.

See you all next time! Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's notes:** Well… this one kind of got out of hand. Seriously, I don't know how this chapter wound up being so big! So… sorry? I'll try not to do the same thing with the next one, but… well, no promises!

Enjoy!

 **Chapter Five: No Need For Princesses And Pets!**

"Well," said Heero as he unlocked the door to his apartment, "here we are."

It was late evening, and the Gundam pilot was quite worn out by the day's events, but as eager as he was to just crawl in bed and call it a night he was still determined to perform his duties as a host. He let Mihoshi walk in ahead of him, Ryoko and Ayeka, and he saw the Galaxy Police officer's eyes widen as she looked at the interior of the apartment.

"Wow!" she said, "This is nice!"

"Thanks," said Heero as he and the others filed in behind her.

She turned around and smiled at him. "So, where do I sleep?"

"I'll get the spare bedroll set up in the storage room later," Heero replied, "You'll be sharing that with Ayeka."

That bedroll was supposed to have been Ryoko's, but the space pirate had been quite content to sleep on the couch so it had gone unused. Heero was grateful for that now; it was one less thing that he had to worry about.

He heard Mihoshi's stomach rumbling, and the space cop giggled as she looked at him. "Uhm… could I get some dinner?"

There was more rumbling behind him, and when he turned around he saw Ryoko and Ayeka rubbing their stomachs as well.

"Some food does sound good right about now," said Ryoko.

Ayeka nodded. "Yes, indeed. Sir Heero, would you please be so kind as to make a meal for the four of us?"

Heero nodded. "All right. You three wait in the living room… and try not to start another fight."

He headed to the kitchen and started digging through the fridge for something easy to make. After a minute he settled on burritos; there was a bowl of leftover ground beef that he had cooked earlier in the week from when he had made tacos for his guest, so it would be a simple matter to put that on soft-shells along with cheese and then heat it up in the microwave.

As he busied himself prepping dinner he would occasionally steal glances over at his three houseguests. It hadn't taken Mihoshi long to find Ayeka's guardians; with their prominent place in the living room the two of them weren't exactly hidden.

"Oh, wow!" she said as she poked Azaka, "What's this?"

"Hello, miss," the sentient blue cylinder replied, "I am Azaka, guardian to her highness, Princess Ayeka."

Mihoshi was so startled that she fell down on her rear. "Whoa, it talks!"

"I apologize," said Azaka, "I did not mean to frighten you."

The red cylinder floated forward. "I'm Kamidake. It's nice to meet you!"

Mihoshi stood up and smiled at the two of them. "Hello! I'm Mihoshi. I guess I'll be staying here for awhile."

"Another guest," said Azaka, "I wonder how this came about?"

"I think we missed out on a big adventure today," said Kamidake, "Princess Ayeka, are you doing all right?"

"I'm quite well, thank you," said Ayeka as she sat down on the couch, "Just a little worn out from today's events."

"No kidding," said Ryoko as she settled down on the opposite end, "Still, it was kind of fun."

Mihoshi smiled. "Yes, it was!"

Ayeka shook her head.

"Mental…" she muttered, "Both of you, just… mental."

 _I'm with you there, Ayeka_ , thought Heero as he made dinner, _Today was certainly interesting, but it wasn't my idea of fun._

He would be quite happy not getting into another fight with an extraterrestrial visitor. However, given that he now had a notorious space pirate, an imperial princess, and a Galaxy Police officer under his roof, Heero had a sinking feeling that today's clash would hardly be the last such tussle he'd find himself in before this strange chapter of his life was through.

As he finished making dinner Heero thought about the fight earlier today. Between Ryoko, Ayeka, and himself they may have managed to subdue Mihoshi, but Heero was well aware of the fact that he had been the weakest combatant. His pistol had been useless, and the only reason his knife had been effective was because of the ambush he and Ayeka had set for Mihoshi. It was a sobering reminder of the kind of power and technology that Heero now found himself dealing with. Cunning and experience had been the key to ending today's fight, and the Gundam pilot knew that he would have to rely on them over his weapons in any future battles with extraterrestrial visitors.

 _I could always hope that our next visitors don't recognize Ryoko as a pirate and start a fight_ , Heero thought, _but I need to be prepared for the worst._

"Hey, Heero!" said Ryoko, "Is dinner almost ready?"

Heero nodded. "Just about."

"Do you require assistance, sir Heero?" asked Ayeka.

"If you could come in here and help me finish this up, I'd appreciate it," Heero replied.

Within seconds Ayeka was beside him with an eager smile on her face. "What can I do for you, sir Heero?"

He didn't know why she kept referring to him with that honorific, but he appreciated her sincere desire to help him. Despite being of royal birth Ayeka did not seem to be quite as spoiled as Ryoko always said she was. She may have been his guest but she was always willing to offer aid, and Heero was quite grateful for it.

"I keep the cups in that cupboard up there," he said, pointing at the one in question, "and there's milk in the fridge. Do you mind pouring drinks for everyone?"

Ayeka shook her head. "Not at all, sir Heero. Anything else?"

"That should be enough for now," said Heero, "Thanks."

As Ayeka busied herself with her task Heero finished up making the burritos. When he had four plates out on the counter he saw that Ayeka had put four glasses of milk right next to them.

"All right," he called to his guests, "Everything's ready."

The three women came into the kitchen. They all smiled when they saw the food. Even though Ryoko and Ayeka had had this meal before they still looked at their dishes appreciatively, while Mihoshi looked positively delighted.

"Oh, wow!" she said, "This looks good!"

"It most certainly is," said Ayeka as she looked at Heero, "Sir Heero's cooking is second to none. You simply _must_ try it."

Heero nodded at her. "Thank you, Ayeka."

"All right," said Ryoko as she grabbed her plate, "Time to dig in!"

The four of them settled in at the coffee table in the living room, with Heero careful to place himself between Ayeka and Ryoko; he'd already learned that letting them sit next to each other was _not_ a good idea. As they started to eat Heero grabbed a nearby remote and turned on the flat screen TV. He flipped it over to a news channel, curious to see how Director Une's media smokescreen was playing out.

A woman with blonde hair wearing a white pantsuit was sitting behind the anchor's desk. "For those of you who are just turning in, the peacekeeping organization Preventers released a statement earlier today in a press conference regarding the crash in Lake Genval earlier today."

"Oh?" said Ayeka, leaning in with interest, "I wonder how they're playing this…"

"Does it really matter?" said Ryoko in between bites.

"What's going on?" asked Mihoshi.

Heero held up his hand to hush them as he focused intently on the anchorwoman.

"According to Preventers Director Lady Une," she said, "the craft that crashed in Lake Genval today was a government prototype that had suffered a severe engine malfunction. Director Une refused to provide further detail, save that Preventers is handling salvage of the vessel and will conduct a thorough investigation regarding the exact nature of the malfunction. Reporters at the conference, including our own, attempted to inquire as to whether this crash was related to the other one that took place earlier this week, but Director Une refused to provide any commentary."

Heero turned off the TV. "Looks like things are going reasonably well on the media front."

Ayeka nodded. "I must say, I'm impressed. Your government works fast, sir Heero."

"Why are they so concerned about covering this up?" asked Ryoko.

"Because you, Ayeka, and Mihoshi are our first confirmed contact with life that is not from Earth," said Heero, "If we don't handle things carefully the people could panic."

"But they're lying to people," said Mihoshi, "That's not good."

Heero shook his head. Mihoshi seemed like a nice woman, but she was quite naïve. Heero was still finding it hard to believe that she was a cop.

"If lies preserve the peace," Heero replied, "then they're lies worth making. Besides, those lies are what're keeping a horde of reporters and conspiracy freaks from harassing you three every waking moment of your lives here."

"Don't you mean 'you five'?" asked Azaka.

"Oh, dear," said Kamidake, "Are we so easily forgotten?"

"You two have been sticking around the apartment," said Ryoko as she chomped down her food, "You might as well be furniture."

Ayeka scowled at her. "My guardians are not furniture, Ryoko!"

"They're very decorative, though," said Mihoshi with a smile, "They really brighten up the place, don't they?"

"Agh!" said Ayeka in exasperation, "They're not pieces of ornamentation either!"

"It's not like we can bring them out in public with us," said Heero, "They're too big for the car and they would draw far too much attention. I'm sorry, Azaka and Kamidake, but I'm afraid that keeping you two here is really our only option right now."

Ayeka sighed. "I'm afraid sir Heero is correct. Azaka, Kamidake, I'm truly sorry, but for the time being the two of you must remain in this apartment."

"Very well, Princess Ayeka," said Azaka.

"We understand," said Kamidake.

The four of them focused on their food for a little bit before Mihoshi spoke again.

"So, Heero," she said with a smile, "Are you a police officer like me?"

Heero shook his head. "Not quite. The group that I work for, Preventers, is a peacekeeping organization."

"So is the Galaxy Police," said Mihoshi, "So that would make you a police officer."

"Not really," Heero replied, "Preventers focuses on threats to the peace in the Earth Sphere. We don't target average criminals; we go after people whose actions threaten to spark a large conflict."

"What sorts of people fit that description?" asked Ayeka with great interest.

"Arms dealers, political and religious extremists, radical environmental groups, and regional figures that are trying to destabilize an area or upend the status quo for their own gain," said Heero, "Sometimes our work does overlap with other law enforcement agencies though, especially when it comes to the drug trade; the actions of a lot of cartels and syndicates can be classified as narco-terrorism, which is definitely a major threat to the peace as far as Preventers is concerned."

Ryoko whistled. "Sounds like you've got your hands full."

Heero nodded. "It has kept me busy. Looking back on things, I guess Sally was really onto something when she said it was time for me to take a vacation… although playing host to you and Ayeka wasn't exactly what I had in mind for time off. And now Mihoshi's here too… as far as vacations go, I'm pretty sure this one's unique."

While Heero was speaking he was almost unaware of a very small smile working its way onto his face. The fact was that, despite the circumstances under which he was taking it, he actually was _enjoying_ his 'vacation'. Even with Mihoshi added to the mix, the Gundam pilot had a strange feeling that he would continue to find this very new and unusual pleasure in his time away from Preventers field operations. It was such a fresh and unpredictable experience for him, and the fact that he couldn't really anticipate what would happen next was actually something that Heero _liked_ about it.

His eyelids fluttered, and he found himself lowering his head ever so slightly. He was trying to hide it from his three guests, but the day's events were starting to catch up with Heero. It was late, and although he wouldn't admit it he was fairly tired.

He felt a light hand on his left shoulder. "Sir Heero? Are you all right?"

His eyes widened ever so slightly as he turned to Ayeka. She was looking at him with concern, having clearly picked up on what he had been trying to conceal.

 _She's sharper than I thought_ , he mused, _Although given that she's a princess she must've learned how to read people in the Empire._

Another hand settled on his right shoulder. "You look a bit out of it, Heero. What's up?"

Turning to his right he saw Ryoko, and like Ayeka she appeared genuinely concerned about him.

Heero shook his head. "I'm all right. After dinner I'll have to set up the extra bedroll for Mihoshi."

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka, "If I may, please let me take care of that."

Heero was a bit taken aback by that. "Ayeka?"

The princess smiled at him. "Miss Mihoshi and I will be sharing the same room in any case, so it's no imposition to me. After we finish eating here I can help her get settled in for the night. You should get some rest."

"She's right, Heero," said Ryoko, smiling at him, "I know I'm beat from today, and I had my powers to help me out. You managed to stop Mihoshi without any special abilities like mine or Ayeka's, so I wouldn't be surprised if you're worn out from it."

The fact that Ryoko was actually agreeing with Ayeka was a sign to Heero that he wasn't hiding his weariness as well as he'd thought he was. Either that or the space pirate was far more perceptive than he'd given her credit for.

Mihoshi yawned. "I'm tired too. Today really wiped me out!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "How are _you_ wiped out? You had were in that power armor the whole fight!

"Hey!" said Mihoshi, "That thing's not easy to control, you know!"

"It still has to be easier than fighting without it!" said Ayeka.

"Enough," said Heero calmly, "I think we've all had enough fighting for today, don't you?"

The three women looked at him for a moment before leaning back in their seats, clearly wiped out.

"Heero's right," said Ryoko, "I really don't have the energy for this right now."

Ayeka yawned. "Yes… it's been a long day."

Mihoshi nodded. "I'm still hungry."

"Then finish your meal," said Heero, "Ayeka, are you sure about getting Mihoshi set up in your room after dinner?"

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Quite so, sir Heero. You just get some rest. I think you've more than earned it today."

Heero gave her a small smile in response. "Thank you."

He could've sworn he saw Ayeka blush. "Oh… think nothing of it, sir Heero!"

Completing his meal, Heero stood up and took his plate and cup to the kitchen. After putting them in the dishwasher he returned to his guests.

"I'm going to bed," he said, "I expect my apartment to still be standing in the morning. You three are forbidden to fight each other, is that clear?"

Ayeka nodded. "Quite so, sir Heero."

"All right," said Ryoko, "They're not really worth my time anyway."

Mihoshi smiled at him. "Don't worry. I won't cause any trouble."

Heero could only hope that they would all be true to their word. "Okay. Goodnight."

….

 **September 9** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Heero had barely stepped out of the shower and put on his bathrobe when the ear-piercing shriek of the apartment's smoke detector alarm hit him like a drill to the back of the head. He immediately rushed out of the bathroom and ran towards the main living area. When he got their he saw a cloud of smoke billowing from the stove, while Mihoshi, Ayeka, and Ryoko were all looking around frantically until they saw Heero.

"Heero!" cried Mihoshi, running up to him with tears in her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Heero! I didn't mean to do it!"

"I don't know how it happened!" yelled Ayeka.

"Turn that damn thing off before my head explodes!" shouted Ryoko, her hands clamped down hard over her ears.

"Such a noisy device!" said Azaka from his perch in the living room.

"I hope it doesn't blow out my auditory sensors!" Kamidake chimed in.

Rushing past the three of them, Heero opened one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled out a red fire extinguisher. A few seconds and a big white cloud later and the small blaze that had erupted on the stove was put out. The Gundam pilot rushed to open up as many windows as he could to ventilate the smoke and was finally able to shut off the screeching alarm.

He then turned to the three women standing in front of him, his eyes narrowing. "No games. What happened?"

Mihoshi nervously stepped forward, stammering as she spoke to him. "I-I was t-trying to c-cook that food t-that you made us f-for breakfast y-yesterday, and…"

Walking over to the oven and looking at the pan on the stove, Heero saw some _very_ burnt strips of bacon sitting there.

"I sincerely apologize, sir Heero," said Ayeka timidly, "When Mihoshi said she wanted to make you a meal to thank you for yesterday and the day before, I helped her find what she would need. She said she didn't need any help, so I paid her no mind after that. By the time I realized something was amiss…"

"The kitchen was on fire," Ryoko finished for her, "and that freaking alarm damn near gave me a heart attack."

Heero sighed. All things considered, it could've been much worse. Frankly, he was surprised his three guests had managed to go as long as they had before something like this had happened.

Mihoshi's first full day on Earth had gone fairly smoothly, all things considered. Much like what had happened with Ayeka and Ryoko, Heero had started out by going shopping to top off his food supplies and to get Mihoshi some basic hygiene necessities. All three women had gone along with him; Ryoko and Ayeka never missed a chance to go out with him, and they were loath to leave him alone with the cute if scatterbrained space cop.

The next stop had been the mall to get Mihoshi some clothes that would let her better fit in with the people of Earth. Ayeka and Ryoko had tried their best to get Heero to widen his shopping list to include them, but he was able to keep them at bay. For her part, Mihoshi had seemed to enjoy herself as she tried on her clothes, and despite her apparently innocent nature Heero had gotten the feeling that she had also been trying to put on a show for him. Heero would privately admit that she did have quite a body, and whether it was by accident or otherwise she had definitely flaunted it.

They'd ended the day with some sightseeing before returning to his apartment for dinner. Despite Heero's initial fears the impromptu tour of Brussels had been a surprisingly relaxing experience. He'd made sure to include places that he hadn't taken Ryoko and Ayeka to previously, and all three women seemed to have fun on the outing. Dinner had been a simple affair, but fortunately for Heero Mihoshi did not appear to be a picky eater.

 _Something had to go wrong eventually_ , he thought as he surveyed the mess in the kitchen, _At least I managed to contain it._

He turned to Mihoshi, who was fidgeting nervously. Her bright blue eyes looked like they were about to burst into tears at any moment, and the last thing Heero wanted right now was to see her cry.

"Are… are you going to kick me out?" she asked softly.

Heero shook his head. "No, I'm not. I know a mistake when I see one, Mihoshi. It's a mess, but I can clean it up."

She smiled and ran forward to hug him. "Thank you, Heero!"

Heero was caught off guard by this, and all he could do was awkwardly pat her on the back. "You're welcome, Mihoshi."

She held him tightly, and Heero couldn't help but notice her amble chest pressed against him. "I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

Heero carefully extricated himself from her embrace, and noticed Ryoko and Ayeka glaring at her. "Don't concern yourself with that. Why don't you just wait in the living room while I fix this and make you and the others breakfast?"

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka, stepping forward, "I can start cleaning in the kitchen for you. You should get some clothes on first."

Heero looked down, realizing that he was still in his bathrobe. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

"You sure?" said Ryoko, smirking at him, "I don't mind seeing you like this, Heero."

"You tramp!" scowled Ayeka, although Heero couldn't help but notice that she was blushing slightly as she looked at him.

He sighed. "I'll go get cleaned up. Try not to destroy my apartment in the meantime."

….

Wolfing down her bacon, Mihoshi smiled at Heero as the four of them ate breakfast. With the help of Ayeka the handsome young man had gotten the kitchen relatively clean in hardly any time at all, and after that he had quickly prepared breakfast. It had turned out _much_ better than her disastrous attempt had. The waffles, bacon, sausage, and eggs were all so _good_.

 _I wish I could cook like him_ , she thought, _All I wanted to do was make him a meal to show him how grateful I am for him taking me in! Why do I always seem to screw things up?_

Her utter failure at preparing the morning meal was discouraging, but much to her relief Heero had been quite understanding with her. He had been so calm after he'd listened to her explanation, and so forgiving. He might've seemed a little cold on the outside, but after just a little more than a day with him Mihoshi could already tell that Heero was a good person. He was so patient and smart, and it was thanks to his intelligence and kindness that she had a place to stay on this unfamiliar planet. Mihoshi was now more determined than ever to find some way to repay him for being so nice to her.

As breakfast wrapped up Mihoshi was the first to stand up, and she immediately set to work clearing the table.

"Mihoshi," said Heero, "I can take care of this."

Mihoshi shook her head as she stacked up the plates. "No, I want to do this! I want to help clean up!"

Heero nodded. "Okay, but be careful. Watch your step."

It was good advice, but unfortunately it came too late. As Mihoshi turned to take the plates to the kitchen her foot got caught on the leg of the coffee table. The hapless space cop tripped and went crashing to the floor, along with the plates.

"Ow!" said Mihoshi, rubbing her side.

Heero came over and helped her to her feet. "Are you all right?"

She nodded as she leaned on him, impressed by how strong his arms were. "I think so… oh, no!"

On the wooden floor in front of them was a pile of broken plates. To make matters worse, they'd all been covered in syrup earlier from the waffles Heero had made, and now that sticky yet delicious fluid formed a puddle on the floor.

She looked at Heero in fearful anticipation. However, the angry reaction she'd been expecting did not come. Instead he simply sighed.

"I'll clean this up," he said as he went over to the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry!" said Mihoshi.

"It's all right," Heero replied as he returned with paper towels and a spray bottle, "Would you mind bringing the kitchen garbage can in here?"

Mihoshi nodded, determined to at least not screw this small thing up. "Right away!"

"Man," she heard Ryoko say, "what a klutz."

"Oh, dear," said Ayeka, "I do hope that this isn't a sign of things to come."

Mihoshi did her best to ignore them, although their words did sting. Mihoshi knew that they were right; she was clumsy, and no matter how hard she had tried over the years she'd been unable to change that about herself. Still, she was determined to do her best to help out however she could, and much to her relief she was able to bring Heero the garbage can he'd requested without incident.

"Here you go!" she said as she set it down beside him.

Heero nodded. "Thank you."

She watched as he worked on cleaning up the mess. "Uhm… is there anything else that I can do to help?"

Heero shook his head. "Not right now, but I appreciate the offer."

 _He's so polite_ , she thought as she watched him, _I got really lucky, getting to stay with him like this! Plus…_

 _…he's pretty cute._

She'd met her share of handsome guys before, but even though she'd only known him for a couple of days Mihoshi could already tell that Heero was something special. He was definitely good looking, but there was also his position as a special kind of law enforcement officer that she found attractive. It was something that she could relate to, although his work was apparently considerably different from hers in several key areas. He was definitely skilled, as evidenced by how he had disabled her power armor. Even if he had done so with the help of Ryoko and Ayeka it remained an impressive feat, and Mihoshi had a feeling that Heero would make a very good officer if he was part of the Galaxy Police.

 _I should try to recruit him!_ , she thought, _Oh, wait… wasn't there a regulation against recruiting people from worlds the Galaxy Police hadn't sent an official contact mission to yet? Was it 952.67, or 952.57… I can't remember. Or do we even have that kind of regulation?_

She really wished that Ryoko hadn't destroyed her identification cylinder. In addition to being her official documentation it also functioned as a portable data terminal of sorts. It allowed her to pull up information on famous criminals, like she had done with Ryoko, and it also provided her with instant access to all the Galaxy Police's regulations and statutes, of which there were _many_. Mihoshi knew that most officers made an effort to memorize at least the most commonly cited ones, but unfortunately her ability to hold and recall information like that was less than stellar. If she were allowed to return to her ship later on she might be able to pull up that information on the vessel's console; even with the damage her craft had taken, many of the core systems had still been functioning immediately after the crash.

Of course, that was a pretty big 'if'. From what Heero had told her, the Preventers organization was combing over her ship with a fine-tooth comb as they tried to learn everything they could about it. They weren't letting anyone near the ship that wasn't authorized, and while she was sure that Heero could get the necessary clearance Mihoshi also knew that her host had his hands full just watching over her, Ryoko, and Ayeka. Now was hardly the time to burden him with more trouble courtesy of her.

"So, Heero," said Ryoko, "What's the big plan for today?"

Heero shook his head as he finished cleaning up. "Not sure, really. I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"Surely we don't need to go out every day," said Ayeka, "I see nothing wrong with spending a day inside. The weather would certainly seem to be encouraging it."

That was true. Looking out the window, Mihoshi saw nothing but grey clouds in the sky. It looked like it might start to rain at any moment, and while she would like to see more of Heero's city she would prefer to not get soaked in the process.

"Staying here doesn't sound so bad," said Heero, "I've actually got some chores that I need to catch up on anyway."

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, I can help! Please, Heero?"

The young man looked puzzled. "You don't have to, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi nodded. "I know, but I want to. I want to make up for the mess I made this morning."

Heero looked at her for a moment before nodding. "All right. I'm sure I can find something for you to help out with."

Mihoshi grinned. "Yay!"

….

Folding his arms, Heero looked on as Mihoshi intently studied the vacuum cleaner. She was incredibly curious about the common household appliance, and Heero found himself in a very strange place somewhere between concern and amusement.

 _I hope I'm not just digging myself into a deeper hole here…_

"So," said Mihoshi, "this thing helps clean the floor?"

Heero nodded. "It's battery operated, and it's fully charged. That red switch on the top turns it on and off, and all you have to do is just push it along the floor. It'll pick up dirt, dust, and any crumbs that we might've dropped on the floor during our meals. If there's a spot that you can't get to with it, that tube and hose on the right side can detach so you can clean there. Once you're done you can just plug that cord on the back into an outlet and the battery will recharge."

"Oh," said Mihoshi, "Okay. I've never seen something like this before."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "So how does the Galaxy Police keep dirt and dust from piling up on their floors, then?"

"We have robots for that," Mihoshi replied, "They hover along the floor and use special energy fields and suction devices to pick up dirt."

"That sounds handy," said Heero, "Unfortunately, I don't have anything like that. This is what I've got."

Mihoshi nodded and smiled. "Oh, it's okay! I should be able to use this. So, where do you want me to start?"

Heero gestured around the living room. "Anywhere in here's fine. Make your way to the kitchen after that, and then down the hall. If you need me I'll be back in the laundry room; there's a bunch of clothes that need to be washed."

"Got it," said Mihoshi as she grabbed the handle of the vacuum, "I won't let you down!"

….

 **Five minutes later…**

Heero had just finished putting the first load of clothes into the laundry machine when he heard a shriek coming from the living room.

 _Oh, boy_ , he thought as he rushed towards the source, _What went wrong?_

When he came into the living room he wasn't sure if he was supposed to face palm or laugh. Ryoko had clearly decided on the former; she was absolutely cracking up, laughing so hard that she was clutching herself as she sat on the couch, trying very hard not to fall off.

There was Mihoshi with the vacuum hose in hand…

…and Ayeka's long purple twin tails getting sucked up into it.

"Curse you, Mihoshi!" the Juraian princess shouted, "Turn this damned contraption off at once!"

Mihoshi was frantically looking around the vacuum in panic. "Uhm… where's the switch? I can't find it!"

Heero sighed as he walked forward and hit the highly visible red switch at the top of the device. Mihoshi slumped over with relief as Ayeka's hair came out of the hose, while the princess glared at her.

"What the devil was that about, Mihoshi?" Ayeka hissed as she glared at her.

"I'm sorry," said Mihoshi, "I saw some crumbs on the couch by where you were sitting and I wanted to clean them up."

"Could you at least have asked me to move first?" asked Ayeka in exasperation.

"I'm glad she didn't," gasped Ryoko as she tried her best to rein in her laughter, "Oh, man, that was priceless! You should've seen the look on your face, Ayeka!"

Ayeka scowled at her. "I'd like to see _you_ laughing when your hair is getting sucked up by that infernal device!"

"Princess Ayeka!" said Azaka, "Are you all right?"

"She looks really angry," said Kamidake nervously.

"I'm really sorry!" whimpered Mihoshi.

"That's enough," said Heero firmly, "It was an accident. Ayeka, are you okay?"

The princess turned to him and nodded. "I believe so, sir Heero. Perhaps it would be best if you handled this particular household chore, though?"

"No!" cried Mihoshi, "I want to do it! I want to help out somehow!"

Heero looked at Mihoshi in thought for a moment before nodding. "If you feel that strongly about it, Mihoshi, then I'll let you continue. Just watch out for the others, all right?"

Mihoshi nodded. "Okay."

 _I really hope I made the right call here_ , thought Heero.

….

Closing the door of his bedroom for the night, Heero leaned against it and sighed. Today had been much more exhausting than he'd anticipated, especially considering that they'd spent the entirety of it in the apartment.

Through a _very_ lengthy process of trial and error, Heero had discovered what household chores he could entrust Mihoshi with and be reasonably certain that his apartment would still be left standing earlier. Vacuuming had been one of them, and after much effort Heero could tentatively add dusting and cleaning the bathroom to the list. He'd tried to show her how to run her own clothes through the laundry, but after she'd literally flooded the machine with detergent Heero decided to list that particular chore as a 'work in progress' for her. Emptying the dishwasher was out of the question; after she had already dropped and broken four of his plates Heero did not want to give her the chance to repeat the experience. The same went with cooking of any kind; the last thing he needed was for her to accidently start another fire.

Despite the stress involved with the day's events, in a way Heero had also found them to be somewhat amusing and refreshing. It was yet another change of pace from his normal life as a Preventers operative. Mihoshi's sincerity in her desire to help out around his place was surprisingly touching, although Heero was quite committed to limiting what she could take responsibility for. Part of that was simply due to practicality, but Heero also did not want his guest to take on too much housework; it just didn't feel right.

There was a knock on the door, and none other than Mihoshi's voice quickly followed. "Uhm, Heero?"

Heero turned around and opened the door. Mihoshi was standing in the hallway with a nervous smile on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I just wanted to say thank you," she replied, "You were really patient with me today. I know I can be a lot to deal with, and… well, I appreciate it."

Heero nodded. "It's all right, Mihoshi. You're my guest, and I'm not going to get mad at you over a few mistakes. Besides, I appreciate the fact that you're willing to help out around here."

"Oh, you're welcome!" said Mihoshi.

"Is there anything else?" asked Heero.

Mihoshi shook her head. "Nope, that was it. I'll see you in the morning… and I'll let you cook breakfast!"

Heero nodded, and he couldn't help but give her a small smirk. "I think that's for the best. Goodnight, Mihoshi."

"Goodnight!" she replied cheerfully.

Closing the door again, Heero leaned against it for a moment and looked down at the floor in thought. A space pirate, a princess, and a space cop all under his roof, and all three were lovely women to boot. They all had their ups and downs, but if nothing else they each seemed like they were decent people. The fact that they all seemed to like him was definitely a bonus, and Mihoshi seemed far less likely to get in a fight than Ryoko and Ayeka were.

 _Maybe this won't be too bad_ , he mused, _As long as I keep an eye on her… then again, I've already got to do that with Ryoko and Ayeka._

 _As long as I don't get any more guests from the stars, I should be okay…._

….

 **September 16** **th** **, A.C. 198**

The private Royal Treeship of Sasami Jurai bore some similarities to her older sister's _Ryu-Oh_. It was an elegant and graceful vessel, with a light blue sphere with a blue circular band around it serving as the core while the rest of the frame flowed out around it. However, Sasami's ship was smaller than Ayeka's, and the frame was a light blue color much like the sphere as opposed to the light brown from _Ryu-Oh_. A long central fin trailed downwards, while four more slender fins were swooped back and two more were pointing upward in a U-shape.

The control room where Sasami guided her craft from was much like that found on the _Ryu-Oh_. There was a central platform with a circle of water running around it, with small bridges going over the water on the right and left sides of the platform. Behind Sasami was the Jurai tree that served as the centerpiece of the vessel, providing power and guidance. There were no traditional controls like those found on conventional craft; the vessel was mentally linked with Sasami, and it would do what she desired whether she vocalize the command or give the order only in her mind.

The cute girl did not seem at first glance like someone who could fly any kind of ship. For starters, she looked far too young; she would not look out of place in a middle school if she were on Earth. Her teal hair was tied into two very long pigtails, and her red eyes were wide and innocent. She was slender and on the short side, and one would be hard pressed to find someone who could not describe her as absolutely adorable. The only signs of her connection to the Jurai Royal Family were the upside down green triangle birthmark on her forehead and the very fine green, yellow, and black kimono she wore.

 _I know Ayeka said she was going on a holiday for a while_ , she thought as she looked at the stars on the screen, _but she's been gone for quite a while now, and now I hear that she got into a fight with a space pirate! I hope she's okay._

It was the simple and pure concern for her sister that had prompted Sasami to leave the comfort and safety of Jurai. Her father and mother hadn't thought enough time had gone by to send out search patrols for the crown princess, but Sasami was much more worried and could not content herself with sitting and waiting in the royal palace. She had retraced Ayeka's trail as best as she had been able to, but she'd run out of real hints after stopping at the planet where the infamous space pirate Ryoko had robbed a local branch of the Bank of Jurai while Ayeka just so happened to be at that very branch making a withdrawal. The resident Galaxy Police officers had been able to give Sasami the flight trajectory Ryoko had fled on and Ayeka had pursued her along, but beyond that the princess did not have any information as to where her sister might be.

 _I won't give up_ , she thought, _I'll find Ayeka no matter where she is!_

Still, after a few days of searching along Ayeka's last known route, Sasami was getting discouraged. She had no idea if her sister had changed course sense Sasami had started down this trail. For all the poor girl knew she could be flying the wrong way now. Space was vast, and trying to find just one person in the galaxy was the equivalent of looking for a needle in a mountain of haystacks.

 _I wish father or mother had come along_ , she thought, _Traveling by myself is lonely, and I haven't made any new friends who can help me out._

She looked out at the stars, praying for a sign of some kind. Sasami was determined to find her sister, but if she didn't find a clue soon she didn't know what she was going to do.

Suddenly she heard a chiming, and a flashing green light appeared on the screen. "What's this?"

The screen zoomed in on a single nearby star system, and then went in even closer, towards the third planet from the sun. The green light was flashing on that planet, and Sasami smiled as she realized what that meant.

"That's _Ryu-Oh_!" she cried, "That's where Ayeka is! Let's go!"

Her ship quickly picked up the pace, and before Sasami knew it she was rushing towards the targeted system at incredible speed. Her heartbeat quickened with excitement as they rapidly approached their destination.

 _I finally found you, sister! I'll be there soon, and then we can go home together!_

….

A cool breeze blew through her long hair as Ryoko stood on the upper surface of the hull of Mihoshi's crashed ship. She sighed and smiled; it felt good to feel fresh air on her skin again. The white t-shirt and jeans shorts she was wearing meant that she was getting some good exposure to the wind, and Ryoko was glad she'd dressed lightly today.

She looked to her right and saw Heero sitting on the hull about a meter away, his hand typing on the small tablet he'd brought with him. His green tank top and blue jeans were a bit scuffed from all the crawling around inside Mihoshi's ship that he'd done earlier, but to Ryoko seeing him like that made him more ruggedly handsome.

Just behind Heero was Ayeka, who, in her light blue blouse and grey skirt, was dressed far too nicely for wandering around a crashed ship. Ryoko would've found it satisfying to see some dirt on Ayeka if it actually bothered her, but the princess had been surprisingly fine with it, leading Ryoko to suspect that she was acting that way in order to score points with Heero. Right now Ayeka was trying very hard not to appear as though she was looking over his shoulder as he worked.

 _You're not exactly subtle, princess_ , Ryoko thought, _Then again, I guess I'm not either._

She turned to her left and looked down the open hatch next to her. "Come on, Mihoshi, hurry it up. It's late and I'm starving!"

"I'm coming!"came Mihoshi's voice from the bottom of the shaft, "Just a minute!"

It was dusk out on Lake Genval, with the first stars of the evening just making their appearance. The four of them had been out there for hours now, and Ryoko was very much looking forward to getting back to the apartment and having another taste of Heero's home cooking.

It had been just a little over a week since Mihoshi had crash landed on Earth. In that time Heero's Preventers organization had cordoned off the crash site at the lake so they could study her ship, but due to just how much more advanced the vessel was when compared to their own technology they'd had trouble making headway. That was why Sally Po had come to Heero earlier that day to request that he bring Mihoshi out to the crash site to help them catalogue the various components of the ship in order to give them a better understanding of what they were looking at.

Heero had tried to leave Ryoko and Ayeka at home, but neither woman was having any of that. Outwardly they both acted as though they were determined to help Heero, and while that was partially true the real reason they were so set on coming along was because they were determined not to leave Heero alone with Mihoshi.

 _That girl's only been here for a week and she's already trying to make moves on him_ , thought Ryoko, _No way in hell she's getting any alone time with Heero!_

Mihoshi could act all innocent, but Ryoko had definitely caught the way she looked at Heero whenever the space cop thought no one was watching. She could play the simple girl who just wanted to help, but it was clear to the space pirate that the blonde officer was definitely trying to score points with their host. Ryoko wasn't about to let a member of the Galaxy Police one-up her in the eyes of their handsome guardian, and she was pretty sure that Ayeka felt the same way.

It had been an interesting experience, wandering around Mihoshi's ship. It wasn't the first time Ryoko had been inside a Galaxy Police patrol craft; she'd been captured by them before, although due to the combination of her powers and her deviousness they hadn't been able to hold her for long. Still, it was a new thing for Ryoko to have the freedom to explore such a craft while not in handcuffs, and she was impressed by how well the thing had held up when one considered just how hard it had impacted the lake. The hull was intact, and surprisingly there were no leaks. The engines were a complete bust, but the ship still had auxiliary power and plenty of the other hardware was still working as a result.

Ryoko had also found it interesting to watch Heero work. She assumed that this sort of thing wasn't normally what he did for a living, but it was still fun to observe him wandering around Mihoshi's craft, taking pictures with his tablet and typing notes on it while talking to the blonde Galaxy Police officer. He was sharp and thorough as Mihoshi gave him and the others a tour of her ship, and it seemed like no detail, no matter how small, could get past him.

 _He's like a detective_ , she thought as she looked at him with a smile on her face, _Law enforcement agents aren't usually my type, but I'd make an exception for you, Heero!_

It wasn't because of his looks, although the fact that he was quite handsome certainly didn't hurt. It was because he was so _unlike_ any other member of a law enforcement group that she had ever encountered before. Just the fact that he was willing to give her a chance despite knowing full well that she was an infamous galactic criminal set him apart from everyone else she'd met. He wasn't one of those 'by-the-book' cops who couldn't deviate from the rulebook to save their lives, nor was he a corrupt officer who would stoop to just about any low if it meant his own enrichment. He was intelligent and flexible while at the same time disciplined and noble. Heero struck her as someone who was far more concerned with doing the right thing as opposed to simply following the letter of the law.

 _I wonder what his story is?_ , she thought, _He did say that everybody has one, and I bet that his is a good one._

It was something she was curious about, but now didn't seem like the right time to ask him about it. He was wrapping up his work for the day, and Ryoko didn't want to interrupt him lest she delayed their return to his apartment and another one of his home-cooked meals. He'd already mentioned that something called 'chicken fettuccine' was on the menu for tonight, and while Ryoko had no idea what that was she was sure that it would be good.

Ryoko folded her arms and tapped her foot on the hull. "Any day now, Mihoshi."

"All right!" she heard Mihoshi cry from below, "I'm coming up now!"

"Finally," said Ayeka, "I daresay it's time to head back."

Heero nodded. "I agree. We've done everything that we can here today. I'll compile my report and send it to Sally after dinner tonight."

A few seconds later Mihoshi's head popped out of the hatch, a big smile on the blonde cop's face. "All right, I got everything I need. Let's go home!"

Before she climbed out of the ship she heaved up a green duffle bag and set it on the hull. The bag was full of items that Mihoshi hadn't been able to grab from the ship until now; her spare clothes, some extra equipment, emergency rations, and other miscellaneous objects.

Mihoshi then climbed up onto the hull. She was wearing a pink tank-top and a pair of very tight blue jeans, and as she hauled herself up out of the shaft Ryoko could not help but notice how she had positioned herself so that her ample rear was facing Heero, and that she was taking just a bit too long to full stand up. Ryoko's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Mihoshi might be a ditz, but there was no denying that she was a ditz with a hot body, and if that brief display was deliberate then she definitely knew how to use it.

Ryoko looked over at Heero. If the Preventers agent had taken notice of the space cop's display he gave no sign of it. Instead he simply tapped the screen of the tablet he was holding, causing it to go black before he stood up.

"Are you sure there's nothing else here you need?" Heero asked Mihoshi.

Mihoshi shook her head. "No, I think I got everything."

Heero nodded. "Good. Let's get going."

With that the four of them climbed down the rope ladder that had been set up on the side of the ship and into the small boat that they had taken to get out here. Ryoko could've flown to and from the shore but had found the idea of riding in a boat like this to be kind of fun. Getting the chance to splash Ayeka had been a bonus, although the princess had been quick to return the favor.

Heero was the first down the ladder. After he was securely in the boat he helped the three women get inside. Ryoko was the last one, and with a sly smile she all but threw herself off the ladder, forcing Heero to hold her tight to keep the two of them from going overboard.

"Oh, Heero!" she said as she looped her arms over his shoulders, making sure to press her bountiful bosom up against his chest, "You're such a gentleman! Thank you!"

Ryoko looked back at Ayeka with a smirk and was not disappointed by what she saw. The princess had her fist clenched and eyebrows bunched together in what could only be barely controlled rage.

"Just what the devil do you think you're doing?" Ayeka growled, "Unhand sir Heero at once, you cur!"

"Aw, you are so _mean_ , Ayeka!" Ryoko replied with faux-hurt before turning back to her host, "Heero, did you hear that? You go through all the trouble to keep me from falling in the lake and all she can do is yell at us! What do you think of that, Heero?"

Outwardly he appeared calm, but Ryoko could tell by the way his body had stiffened slightly that she was definitely making him uncomfortable by rubbing up against him like this. She wanted to push things further but was prevented from doing so as Heero extricated himself from her grip, mindful of their balance so as to keep from sending them tumbling into the lake.

"I think we should get back to the apartment," he said, avoiding looking at Ryoko, "We've been out here long enough today."

Ryoko folded her arms. "Oh, all right, be that way."

She sat down next to him as he activated the small craft's battery powered motor. He didn't seem particularly mad at her or anything like that, but at the same time there was a certain subtle awkwardness about him, like he didn't know what to do about her flirtations.

 _This guy must not have a lot of experience with women_ , she thought, _He's probably been so focused on his work that he hasn't gotten to have any fun with them. Well, I'll just have to change that, won't I?_

She definitely felt like she'd made progress with him ever since they'd first met, especially after they're private talk once the chaos from Mihoshi's arrival had settled down a bit. However, it was clear that she still had a long way to go with him. Ryoko felt that she had an edge over Ayeka and Mihoshi when it came to getting close to Heero, but there was no denying that there was so much that she did not know about him, and based on his personality it was clear that he would not divulge that information easily. The lovely space pirate wasn't sure what it would take to get him to really open up about it. She was used to using her feminine wiles to get guys wrapped around her finger, but Heero was incredibly resistant to that sort of thing. It would require a much more long-term approach to really unravel the mystery behind him, and given her impulsive nature Ryoko knew that it would be quite a struggle for her to do that. Still, it was a challenge that she wanted to take a shot at. After all, if the prize was Heero Yuy, then it would be well worth the effort.

As the motor started up, Ryoko saw Heero looking at Mihoshi. Following his gaze, he saw the dark-skinned blonde woman fiddling with a pink cube that she had pulled out of her duffle bag.

"What is that?" asked Heero.

"It's a distress beacon," the space cop replied, "If I activate it the Galaxy Police will come out here to help me."

"Hate to break it to you, Mihoshi," said Ryoko, "but it might be a while before the Galaxy Police come out this way. This is kind of the sticks, you know?"

"Perhaps," Ayeka chimed in, "but the odds of someone finding her may be greater than you think, Ryoko. After all, Miss Mihoshi was the one that picked up _my_ distress signal, if you may recall."

"Because she was assigned to patrol out this way," said Heero as he untied the boat from the side of the ship, "We don't know if the Galaxy Police have assigned another officer to pick up Mihoshi's route yet."

"They should have by now," said Mihoshi, although she didn't sound so sure, "I mean, I've already been gone over a week! They have to have someone assigned to look for me!"

Ryoko was tempted to tell Mihoshi that she doubted it thanks to how scatterbrained she was, but the space pirate found that she didn't have the heart to do it. Mihoshi might've been a cop, and her innocent nature made her an easy target to pick on, but for some reason Ryoko found that dashing her hopes like that was a line that she wasn't willing to cross right now.

 _I'm going soft_ , she thought as she looked back at their host, _Damn it, Heero, I'm blaming that one on you! You just had to go and be nice to me, and some of that might've actually rubbed off on me._

"I'm sure an officer of the Galaxy Police is looking for you right now as we speak," said Ayeka, although she didn't sound very convincing to Ryoko.

"There's no point in worrying about that right now," said Heero as he pushed the boat out from the ship before hitting the motor, "Let's just get back to the apartment and get something to eat."

Ryoko smiled. "Sounds good to me."

Ayeka nodded. "Quite so. I must say I'm looking forward to it. Whenever you cook a new meal for us, sir Heero, it is simply exquisite!"

"Yeah," said Mihoshi, "How did you get so good at cooking?"

"Practice," Heero replied, "I got tired of rations and microwave meals all the time, so I branched out and taught myself how to cook. That's all there is to it."

"I wish I could do it," said Mihoshi, "but I never get it right no matter how many times I try."

"You just have to keep working at it," Heero encouraged her, "You'll get it eventually… although you should stick with foods that you have a minimal chance of setting ablaze."

"Yes, that would be best," said Ayeka.

"No kidding," muttered Ryoko.

Mihoshi smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Do you think you can teach me, Heero?"

Heero was quiet for a moment, and Ryoko watched as he looked out across the lake. "Perhaps."

The rest of the short trip back to shore passed without much incident, although both Ryoko and Ayeka had given Mihoshi suspicious glares.

 _Getting Heero to teach her to cook?_ , Ryoko thought, _The bimbo's more cunning than I thought…_

The boat pulled up to the dock, and while Ayeka steadied the craft Heero got out and tied the boat to the moorings. He then helped the three women out of the craft before getting back in to remove Mihoshi's bag and the one he'd brought for this assignment that contained his gear.

"That's everything," said Heero as he climbed back out of the boat, "Let's get to the car and go home."

Before they could leave Ryoko heard a small buzzing noise coming from Heero's pocket. Setting the bags down, Heero took out his cell phone.

"Hello," he said, "What is it, Sally?"

Ryoko couldn't hear what Heero's superior officer was saying, but the way Heero suddenly looked up at the darkening sky with his eyes narrowing did not bode well.

"Please tell me you're joking," he said.

About a minute went by as he quietly listened to Sally while Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi gathered around and watched curiously.

"Can you confirm that?" he asked.

"I wonder what's going on?" said Ayeka softly.

Ryoko shrugged. "Beats me."

"Aw, why did they have to call him now?" Mihoshi whimpered, "I'm so hungry, and he was about to take us home and make us dinner!"

"Join the club," Ryoko grumbled.

She saw Heero sigh, his gaze still on the evening stars. "How long do we have?"

A few seconds went by before he spoke again. "All right, then. We'll stick around here. Hopefully things will be more peaceful than last time."

 _Uh oh_ , thought Ryoko, _I don't like the sound of that…_

Sally must've said something else, because Heero looked over at Ryoko and the others before speaking again. "I'll try to keep things under control. Just don't take too long in getting here. Zero, out."

"What's up, Heero?" asked Ryoko as he put his cell phone away.

"Is something the matter, sir Heero?" asked Ayeka.

"Anything we can do to help?" Mihoshi chimed in.

Heero looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "We've got a ship coming in. From what Sally told me it's coming straight for us."

Ryoko's eyes widened. "Are you serious? This planet's out in the middle of nowhere!"

"That didn't stop us from landing on it," Ayeka pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was a fluke," Ryoko shot back, "I came out here to lay low, and you were chasing me. Mihoshi found this place because she just so happened to be patrolling out here when she caught your distress signal."

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, I bet someone caught the one I just activated!"

Ryoko shook her head. "Oh, come on, there's no way it's because of that. You turned that thing on, what, five minutes ago?"

"That does seem to be far too fortuitous," Ayeka commented, "Sir Heero, did Lady Sally happen to send you any pictures of the craft we are expecting to see soon?

Heero shook his head. "Not yet, though she said she'd try to get us something. For right now she just wants us to wait here until she gives us an update."

"Great," Ryoko grumbled, "So much for that home cooked meal. Whoever's coming here better be bringing some food or I'm going to kick their ass!"

"I'd rather avoid a fight, if possible," said Heero, "It would be nice to have an encounter with an extraterrestrial visitor that didn't involve a shootout for a change."

"Oh, no!" cried Mihoshi, "What if they're a criminal? My documents are destroyed, so I can't legally arrest them!"

"No need to worry, Miss Mihoshi," said Ayeka, "As crown princess of Jurai I can act with my own authority to seize our visitors if they prove to be troublemakers!"

"If it comes to that, I'd appreciate it if you'd remand them into Preventers custody," said Heero.

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Of course, sir Heero."

The four of them stood on the dock and looked up at the sky. After a few minutes they saw a small prick of red light amongst the stars; the sign of a ship in the middle of atmospheric entry.

"You think that's it?" said Ryoko.

Heero nodded. "I'm sure of it."

"I do hope they take more care with their landing than Miss Mihoshi did," said Ayeka.

"Hey!" Mihoshi cried, "That wasn't my fault! It was the autopilot!"

"Keep telling yourself that, kid," Ryoko muttered.

"Perhaps we should get back a bit?" said Ayeka nervously, "If they come down hard we'll get caught in the water they kick up if we're standing here."

Heero nodded. "Let's go to the car."

The parking lot wasn't too far from the docks. After they got there Ryoko, Mihoshi, and Ayeka continued to watch the sky while Heero loaded the bags into the car. The ship was definitely getting closer, but it was still too far out to really tell what kind of vessel it was.

"They're definitely going slower than Miss Mihoshi was," said Ayeka, "I'll take that as a good sign."

"It's a good thing it's getting dark," said Heero, "Most people should be inside by now, and Preventers has had this area cordoned off for quite some time now thanks to the prior landings."

"I just hope nobody gets hurt," said Mihoshi.

"Including us," Ryoko deadpanned.

"As long as you can rein in your barbaric tendencies that shouldn't be a problem," Ayeka said with a smirk, "I wonder how long you'll be able to go before you pick a fight?"

Ryoko glared at her. "You're one to talk, princess! You start plenty of fights too, in case you haven't forgotten!"

"Enough, both of you," said Heero firmly, "We need to stay focused here."

Ayeka bowed her head. "Of course, sir Heero. Forgive me."

Ryoko nodded and gave him an apologetic smile. "All right. Sorry about that. You know that we've got your back when the chips are down, right Heero?"

Heero nodded, and Ryoko was pleased to see him give her a very small smile in return. "I know."

After a few minutes the ship had gotten much closer, and now Ryoko was able to make out a few details. What she saw didn't exactly please her.

 _Ah, crap_ , she thought, _Those lines… that looks like a Juraian ship._

Glancing over at Ayeka, Ryoko saw the princess smile as she came to the same conclusion. "Oh, goodness! That looks like it might be a royal vessel!"

"Are you sure?" asked Heero.

"Well," said Ayeka, her tone one of cautious optimism, "I'll need it to get closer so I can be sure, but… from this distance, that frame does look promising."

"Yay!" cheered Mihoshi, "You get to go home, Ayeka, and you can drop me off at Galaxy Police headquarters on the way back!"

"Yes," said Ayeka, although Ryoko noticed that she suddenly didn't look so enthusiastic about the new visitor, "I suppose so…"

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. The princess had better not be having second thoughts. Sure, Ryoko originally hadn't been thrilled at the idea that the ship coming towards them was from Jurai, but if it got Ayeka and Mihoshi off Earth and let her have Heero all to herself then she was all for the craft being from the Empire.

The ship was rapidly growing larger, and Ryoko could make out a lot more detail now. Sure enough, the vessel was definitely a Jurai Treeship. It was smaller than _Ryu-Oh_ , but it still looked very similar to Ayeka's vessel. Unlike Mihoshi's ship it appeared to be coming down in a very controlled descent, and it looked like the craft would soon be settling in directly over the lake.

Ryoko saw Ayeka's eyes widened as the craft got closer. "Oh, my… that ship… it can't be!"

"What is it, Ayeka?" asked Heero.

Ayeka shook her head. "I don't believe it… she couldn't be out here…"

"Hey," Ryoko snapped, "spill the beans, princess!"

"Do you know that ship, Ayeka?" asked Mihoshi.

"I… I think so," Ayeka replied hesitantly.

 _Great_ , Ryoko thought dryly, _Someone she knows? This isn't going to go well…_

The ship was very close now, and Ryoko could see it decrease in speed as it made its final approach to the lake. The elegant craft slowly descended until it was hovering no more than a meter or so above the water.

"Director Une's going to have a fit about this," she heard Heero mutter.

Ryoko shrugged. "At least they didn't crash."

Heero nodded. "True."

The ship was no longer moving, and Ryoko wasn't sure what they should do. Heero seemed content to wait for the new arrival to make the first move, while Ayeka was fidgeting nervously and Mihoshi was all but jumping for joy.

Suddenly a flash of green light came from the ship. For a split second Ryoko feared it was an attack and braced herself to counter, but then she realized that the light wasn't aimed directly at them, but at a spot on the ground several meters away. Squinting through the light, Ryoko thought she saw the outline of a person.

 _Well_ , she thought, _here we go…_

As the light slowly faded Ryoko got a better look at the newcomer. They were rather short in stature, and her eyes widened as Ryoko realized that she wasn't looking at an adult, but a girl who looked like she should still be in middle school. Her fine kimono and red eyes gave her away as a member of the Jurai Royal Family, but the way she had her teal hair tied in two long tails gave her even more of a youthful air, like she should be on her way to class rather than flying across the galaxy.

 _I did not see this one coming_ , she mused, _This should be interesting…_

"Aw, look at her!" said Mihoshi, "She's adorable!"

Ryoko folded her arms and shook her head in disbelief. This was a Juraian royal and Mihoshi's ticket off Earth, but the ditzy space cop had just taken one look at her and was acting like the girl was a friend's daughter or younger sister that she had just met for the first time. Although Ryoko would grudgingly admit that the girl was definitely cute.

Ayeka was apparently stunned, but her shock did not seem to be directed at Mihoshi's behavior. Rather, her focus was squarely on the newcomer.

" _Sasami?_ " she said, looking like she had seen a ghost.

The girl smiled and ran forward. "Ayeka! I've found you, Ayeka!"

Ryoko saw what might very well have been the most genuinely _happy_ smile she'd ever witnessed the royal give appear on Ayeka's face. The princess rushed forward, all sense of decorum forgotten.

" _Sasami!_ " cried Ayeka as she embraced the girl, "Oh, my dear sister… I've missed you so much!"

Ryoko's eyes widened. " _Sister?_ "

"So it would seem," said Heero.

"Aw, look at them!" said Mihoshi with an adoring smile, "They're so cute together!"

Ryoko was having a hard time believing that such an adorable girl was really the sister of someone as stubborn and stuck-up as Ayeka. She was completely blindsided by this, and all the more so by seeing Ayeka drop her high-and-mighty-princess attitude and acting as simply a loving older sister.

After about half a minute the two sisters broke their embrace, although Ayeka still held Sasami by the shoulders. "Sasami, what are you doing out here? You know you're not supposed to leave the capital!"

"But I came to look for you, Ayeka!" Sasami cried, "You were gone on your holiday for so long that I was worried!"

" _Holiday?_ " said Ryoko, raising an eyebrow, "She was on _vacation_ when she chased me from that planet?"

"You two must have quite the rivalry if she's willing to put her holiday on hold to do battle with you," said Heero dryly.

Ryoko shook her head. "Sheesh, she's so uptight that she can't even kick back and enjoy a vacation like normal people."

"I appreciate your concern, Sasami," she heard Ayeka say, "but you know how dangerous it is outside Jurai! Father and mother must be worried sick about you! How did you ever convince them to let you leave the capital?"

Sasami smiled. "I ran away, Ayeka! I had my own ship, and I wanted to find you, so I left!"

 _She makes it sound so simple_ , thought Ryoko, almost amused by the spectacle, _Wouldn't a kid like this have guards around her all the time? Someone fell asleep on the job…_

Ayeka shook her head. "Oh, Sasami… I know you meant well, but you acted so recklessly! You're a princess of Jurai! You can't just take off across the galaxy at will, even if it's to help me!"

Sasami's eyes narrowed, but the girl's raw cuteness robbed the gesture of any bite. "Yes I can, Ayeka, and I did!"

Ryoko shrugged. "She's got spirit, I'll give her that."

Heero nodded, and Ryoko thought she saw a hint of approval on his face. "Those two share the same strength. It must run in the family."

"I'm just glad she's safe," said Mihoshi, "She could've gotten attacked by pirates!"

 _No kidding_ , thought Ryoko, _A princess travelling by herself would make a tempting target, even if she had a Jurai Treeship. This Sasami caught a lucky break._

"Where's Azaka and Kamidake?" asked Sasami, "I thought that they went with you on your trip."

"They're quite all right," said Ayeka, "We left them at the apartment."

"Whose apartment?" asked Sasami.

"Oh, goodness!" said Ayeka as she released her sister, "I completely forgot about that! Where are my manners? Sasami, there's someone special that I'd like you to meet?"

"Special?" said Sasami with a smile, "Who is it?"

 _Watch it, Ayeka_ , Ryoko thought as her eyes narrowed, _If you try to claim that Heero's your boyfriend just because your sister doesn't know what's been going on here since we landed then I will make you regret it!_

Ayeka smiled as she gestured towards Heero. "This is Sir Heero Yuy. He's a protector of this planet, and has provided me with shelter since I arrived here. He is a kind and honorable young man."

"Sir Heero?" said Sasami as she looked at Heero, "You're a knight?"

Heero shook his head. "No, although your sister was right about me being a guardian of this world. You can just call me Heero; there's no need for a title with me."

Sasami nodded and walked forward, offering her hand. "Nice to meet you, Heero! I'm Sasami Masaki Jurai. You can call me Sasami!"

Heero nodded as he shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you as well, Sasami. Ayeka never told us that she had a sister."

Sasami's eyes widened, and she turned to her sister. "What? Why not, Ayeka? You better not have forgotten about me!"

"Oh, come now, Sasami," said Ayeka, "I could never forget about you! It's just that I didn't feel the need to Sir Heero with our family story."

"I wouldn't have minded a little bit of it," said Heero, folding his arms, "At least the part about you having a younger sister with access to a starship."

"Yeah," said Ryoko, "How did _that_ slip your mind, Ayeka?"

Ayeka bowed her head. "I apologize, Sir Heero. I honestly did not think that it was something you would wish to know. Forgive me."

Heero nodded. "It's all right, Ayeka. Don't worry about it."

Ayeka smiled. "Thank you, Sir Heero!"

"So," said Sasami as she turned to Ryoko and Mihoshi, "who are you two?"

Mihoshi smiled. "My name's Mihoshi. I'm with the Galaxy Police!"

Sasami's eyes widened. "Oh, wow, a police officer! It's nice to meet you, Miss Mihoshi!"

"Aw, you're sweet!" said Mihoshi, "You can just call me Mihoshi, Sasami!"

Sasami nodded. "Okay!

The girl then turned to Ryoko, and the space pirate gave her a smirk. "Name's Ryoko, kid. I bet your sister's told you all about me, hasn't she?"

Sasami nodded, and much to Ryoko's surprise the girl was still smiling. "Uh huh! You're the space pirate she keeps fighting! Ayeka tries to hide it, but I think she has fun getting into fights with you!"

Ryoko raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ayeka. "Really?"

Ayeka frantically shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no! Sasami, how could you say that to a woman like her? She's a menace! I fight her only because I have to!"

Sasami shook her head. "You can't fool me, sister! You've been fighting her for so long now that you've started to enjoy it!"

Ayeka looked quite flustered. "That's utter nonsense!"

Ryoko couldn't help but chuckle. This kid sister of Ayeka's was just full of surprises. Maybe having her around for a while wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Sasami then turned back to her sister. "Have you been staying here with all of them, Ayeka?"

Ayeka nodded. "Indeed. Sir Heero has been most generous in allowing the three of us to take up temporary residence in his apartment."

"Wow!" she said as she turned to Heero again, "That was really nice of you! Thank you for giving my sister a place to stay, Heero!"

Heero nodded. "You're welcome."

Sasami looked at her sister and smiled. "You found a nice guy here, Ayeka. I like him!"

Ayeka smiled, and Ryoko could've sworn the princess blushed. "Oh… I'm glad to hear you say that, Sasami."

Then the pirate thought she saw a mischievous glimmer in the girl's eyes. "So, are you going to take him back to Jurai and present him to mother and father?"

If Ayeka's blush had been faint before, now it was bright and clear. " _Sasami!_ "

"What?" the girl asked, and while her expression appeared innocent Ryoko wasn't so sure, "You like him, don't you? You've been staying with him all this time after all, and…"

"That's quite enough of that!" said Ayeka in a panic, quickly putting her hand over Sasami's mouth, "Sir Heero, I beg your pardon! She's young and can still be quite immature at times!"

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

Ryoko studied him carefully, but his expression remained as calm as ever. If there was any consideration to what Sasami had said before Ayeka had hushed her going on in that carefully guarded mind of his he gave no sign of it.

She watched as Ayeka leaned in to whisper something to Sasami. What it was, Ryoko had no idea, but when the two of them looked at Heero and the others she saw that innocent smile on the girl's face again.

"Well, Sir Heero," said Ayeka, "As I am still under your observational custody I do not wish to cause any trouble for you. So… what happens now?"

"That," said a familiar female voice, "is a very good question."

Ryoko and the others turned to see Sally walking towards them. She had a handful of Preventers agents with her, and she seemed quite amused by the sight of Sasami and her ship in the background.

"Sally," said Heero with a nod, "I'm glad you made it."

"And I'm glad that you managed to avoid getting into another fight," Sally replied with a smile, "Although you're hardly the type to pick a fight with a girl like this."

Sasami waved at Sally, that innocent smile still on her face. "Hello there! I'm Sasami. What's your name?"

Sally smiled. "I'm Sally Po, young lady. I'm Heero's direct superior."

Sasami nodded. "Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise," Sally replied, "Aren't you a well mannered young lady! Your parents must be proud of you."

"Aw, thanks!" said Sasami, "So you're Heero's boss?"

"One of them," said Sally with a smirk, "You'll meet the other one soon enough."

"Director Une's coming here?" asked Heero.

 _The Director?_ , thought Ryoko, _None of us have met her yet. I wonder what she's like…_

Sally shook her head. "No, we're going to her… and the meeting will not be at Preventers headquarters. Our destination's more clandestine… and it will serve as a good place to keep this ship out of sight for the time being."

"Begging your pardon, Lady Sally," said Ayeka, "but if you seek to move Sasami's ship I'm afraid that you will need her help to do so. A Jurai Treeship can only be commanded by its master."

Sally nodded. "That's quite all right. After all, Sasami seems like such a nice girl. She'd be willing to let us ride in her ship, wouldn't she?"

Sasami nodded. "Sure! Where are we going?"

"There's only one place close enough that allows us to meet Director Une and hide this ship," said Heero, and Ryoko saw his eyes narrow, "Sally, you want her to fly us to Base Green."

Sally nodded. "The hidden hangar should be large enough for this craft, and the region it's in is pretty remote. Surely you can't think of a better place, can you?"

"Not on such short notice," Heero replied, "but Base Green is a classified facility. Is it really acceptable to bring our guests there?"

"Considering our 'guests' qualify as classified material in their own right, I don't really see that as being an issue at this point," said Sally, "Director Une sees things the same way; she suggested we use it if this new contact proved to be friendly, and I think Sasami's about as friendly as they come."

Heero nodded. "At least nightfall will make our chances of being seen en route much less likely."

"Exactly," said Sally, "So, Sasami, is it okay if we take a ride in your ship to a very special place?"

Sasami nodded and smiled. "Sure! That sounds like fun!"

 _That was easy_ , thought Ryoko, _This kid's way easier going than Ayeka is._

Sally turned to the agents that had accompanied her. "You all can return to headquarters. I'll continue on to Base Green with Heero and the others."

Ryoko turned to Heero. "So, what exactly is Base Green?"

"You'll see soon enough," Heero replied.

….

It was a very strange experience for Heero, being brought aboard an alien starship. The boarding process alone had been a bit unnerving; a bright green light had shot out of the ship, and the next thing Heero knew he and the others were inside the vessel. The bridge layout wasn't at all what he'd been expecting. It looked more like a carefully arranged garden than a ship's control center, with the tree behind the main platform being the most prominent feature.

Looking at Sally, he saw her studying the interior with great interest. "Fascinating… our scientists are going to have a field day looking at this thing."

Heero nodded. "Agreed."

To his right he saw Ryoko looking around the ship suspiciously. Heero supposed that he couldn't blame her for that, given her history of conflict with a certain member of Jurai's Royal Family. Said member of that Royal Family appeared to be very much at home on the ship, a stark contrast indeed to the space pirate. Ayeka had a smile on her face as she stood behind Sasami, and Heero guessed that being back in a familiar environment was really helping her mood. Mihoshi was looking around the ship in wonder, and Heero surmised that this was the first time she'd been aboard such a vessel.

"I'm impressed, Sasami," said Ayeka, "You've taken good care of your ship."

Sasami smiled. "Well of course, silly! We've been on a long journey to find you, Ayeka!"

"Sasami," said Sally, "are you ready?"

Sasami nodded, and with a gesture a map of the immediate area showed up on the main monitor. "Sure! Where do you want to go?"

"Can you zoom out a bit?" she said, "Base Green's not too far away, but it is outside the area you're showing right now."

"Okay!" said Sasami.

She waved her hand and the map zoomed out quite a bit. "Is it on there now, or do you need me to go out further?"

Sally nodded and smiled. "That's perfect. I can see exactly where we need to go."

"All right," said Sasami, "Just point and I'll take the ship there!"

Sally nodded and pointed with her right hand to a heavily forested area to the south. "Go there, Sasami."

Sasami nodded. "Got it."

Heero did his best to brace himself as the ship lifted off, but was surprised to find that his efforts really weren't needed. The vessel gained altitude very smoothly, and to Heero it barely felt like they were moving at all.

"Hey, Heero," said Ryoko, "So what was that area that Sally was pointing to earlier?"

"The Ardennes forest and uplands," he replied, "It's a very extensive woodland area. There are sections that are inhabited, but much of it isn't, in large part because the majority of it has been designated a nature preserve. Base Green's in one of the most remote sections."

Ryoko nodded. "You ever been there before?"

"Once," said Heero, "For a concealed base it's surprisingly spacious. We should have no problem hiding Sasami's ship there for a while."

"Why do we need to hide it?" asked Mihoshi.

Heero had to fight very hard to resist the urge to face palm. Hadn't he just explained to her after she'd arrived on Earth the importance of keeping things like this from the general public?

"Because we need to make sure the technology of a ship like this does not fall into the wrong hands," he said patiently, "Also, there's the small detail of the broader public possibly going into a panic at the mention of extraterrestrial contact. Trust me, keeping Sasami's ship hidden for now is the safest thing we can do."

Mihoshi nodded. "Okay."

The ship climbed quickly, and Heero was grateful that night was falling. With luck anyone who looked up at the sky tonight would only see the faint outline of the ship in the distance and wouldn't think twice about it.

Heero tracked their progress on the map Sasami had up on the display. The ship was moving forward quite quickly, yet Heero hardly felt any sign of the vessel's acceleration from the bridge. It was very impressive how the ship was somehow able to dampen the acceleration force, and Heero was very curious as to whether whatever technology responsible for it could also be applied to a mobile suit, particularly the beast that was the Tallgeese III.

"Very nice," said Sally, "At this rate we'll be there in no time."

"Just let me know when you want to talk to the people in the base so they can let us in," said Sasami, "I'll help you contact them."

Sally shook her head. "There's no need, Sasami. I can contact them on my radio."

Sasami nodded. "All right, then."

Even with nightfall, Heero had to admit that the view of the countryside passing beneath them on the monitor was still an impressive sight. Towns and villages passed by all too quickly, along with rolling hills, winding rivers and streams, and thick forests. The last one soon became dominant as the ship came over the Ardennes region, and Heero knew that it would be just a matter of seconds now before they were over their destination.

"How beautiful," said Ayeka as she watched the land below on the screen, "This truly is a lovely world."

Sasami smiled. "Yeah… it's a lot like Jurai, right Ayeka?"

Ayeka nodded. "Some parts, yes… although I would say that this world has a charm all of its own."

"It's a hell of a lot more welcoming than the Empire," Ryoko muttered.

Ayeka folded her arms. "You've only yourself to blame for that, you scoundrel."

Heero held up his hand to forestall their argument. "Save it for later. We've got bigger things to worry about right now."

"Agreed," said Sally, "Slow up, Sasami. We're just about there."

Sasami nodded. "Got it!"

The vessel began to decelerate, and Sally's eyes narrowed as she studied the screen. "All right… stop it in five seconds!"

"Ok!" Sasami replied.

She halted her ship right on the mark, and Sally smiled. "Very nice. You're quite the pilot, young lady."

Sasami smiled. "Aw, thanks! It's not really that hard, though. The ship does most of the work."

Sally nodded. "I see. Keep it hovering here for a moment. I need to speak to the people below us."

"I don't see anyone down there," said Sasami.

It was true; all that was visible on the screen was a solid wall of trees. However, appearances could be very deceiving, and Heero was well aware of what was truly beneath them.

Sally smirked. "Well, it wouldn't be much of a secret base if it was visible, would it? Just you wait and see, Sasami. I think you're going to like this."

 _She's having way too much fun with this_ , thought Heero.

Sasami was practically beaming now. "Really? Come on, Sally, show me!"

"Sasami!" said Ayeka sternly, "Have some manners when addressing Lady Sally! She's Sir Heero's commanding officer!"

Sally laughed. "It's quite all right, Ayeka. Really, I don't mind at all. Her enthusiasm's a breath of fresh air, truly."

"Oh," said Ayeka, sufficiently mollified, "Very well, then."

Sally then clicked a button on the side of her small radio. "This is Water to Base Green Control. We're right above you. Go ahead and open her up."

There was just a bit of static in the reply, but Heero could still hear it quite clearly. "Roger that, Water. Retracting hatch doors now."

"Here we go," said Heero.

On the screen he saw the thick curtain of trees below slowly begin to part. Two massive and thick doors gradually began to recede, revealing a cavernous hangar.

"Holy crap!" said Ryoko, "That's huge!"

"Impressive!" said Ayeka, her eyes widening, "I had no idea your organization had built a facility like this, Sir Heero!"

"Preventers didn't build it," Heero replied, "This base was originally constructed by the United Earth Sphere Alliance, the government that ruled this world before the formation of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. Most of their old military facilities were decommissioned, but some of them we held onto and upgraded for our own use. Base Green is one of them."

"Will it really fit Sasami's ship?" asked Mihoshi.

"It'll be close," said Sally, "but it'll fit."

"I can't wait to go inside!" said Sasami, "It's so big!"

It was nice to know that, despite the much more advanced technology of the society that his guests were from, Heero and his colleagues could still impress their extraterrestrial visitors. There was a certain pride to be taken in what humanity's ingenuity could achieve, although Heero had never thought that he'd be taking pride in a base that was constructed by one of his old enemies.

 _My life just seems to get stranger by the day_ , he thought, _I wonder what's up next…_

Eventually the giant tree-covered doors ceased moving, and Sally turned to Sasami. "All right, Sasami. Take her down."

Sasami nodded and grinned. "Got it! Here we go!"

The ship slowly began to descend. As it did so the features of the subterranean hangar became more distinct. The massive metal doors had been laid over with soil to allow trees to grow over them, the better to camouflage the facility. At the very edge of each door was a thin white line, and while Heero couldn't name the exact substance he knew from briefings that it was designed to keep tree roots from overlapping and preventing the doors from opening. When the metal and the dirt were added together it made the doors an astounding fifteen meters thick, and that wasn't counting the trees themselves. The old Alliance had spared no expense in building this fortress, originally designed as both a redoubt and a center of top secret military research.

As the vessel descended more of the hangar's interior came into view. Its size truly was impressive for a facility of its nature, but even so Heero knew that fitting Sasami's ship inside would be a close thing. Her ship might be smaller than Ayeka's _Ryu-Oh_ , but it was still nothing to sneeze at.

A few seconds later the ship came to a halt, hovering what Heero guessed to be less than a meter from the surface of the floor. He was impressed with how smoothly and effortlessly Sasami had brought the ship down.

 _That was really precise_ , he thought, _I guess her bond with the ship really helps her fine-tune her control. I wonder how it works…_

Sally looked pleased with Sasami's piloting as well. "Very well done, Sasami!"

"Thank you!" Sasami replied.

Ryoko smirked. "Not bad, kid, I'll give you that. Better than your sister, anyway. At least you didn't crash."

" _Excuse me_ , Ryoko!" Ayeka growled, shooting the space pirate a death glare.

Ryoko shrugged. "What? It's true."

"I only crashed my ship because I was trying to defeat you!" Ayeka yelled.

"How'd that turn out for you?" Ryoko quipped, "I believe you wound up trashing your ship."

Heero stepped between them. "Calm down, both of you. Now's not the time for another one of your arguments."

"Come on, stop it, Ayeka!" said Sasami as she tugged on her sister's arm, "You shouldn't be fighting like this!"

"Ryoko, please don't fight with all of us in here!" cried Mihoshi as she grabbed the pirate, "I don't want to get caught in the middle of it!"

Ryoko batted her away. "All right, all right! Sheesh, lighten up."

Ayeka sighed. "You're right, Sasami. I'm sorry."

Seeing that calm was restored for the moment, Sally stepped forward. "Well, now that that's sorted out, perhaps we can disembark?"

"How exactly do we do that?" asked Heero as he looked around the ship.

"Oh, that's easy!" said Sasami, "Everyone, please stand close together in the middle of the platform!"

Looking over at Sally, the two Preventers operatives shrugged before doing as Sasami commanded. Heero couldn't help but notice that Ryoko and Ayeka seemed to be using Sasami's instructions as an excuse to sidle up to him, with each of them grabbing one of his arms.

"Ryoko," growled Ayeka, "just what do you think you're doing?"

Ryoko gave her a faux-innocent smile. "Well, your little sister did say we need to be close together. You heard her too, didn't you, Heero?"

"I don't think this is quite what Sasami had in mind," Heero muttered.

"What's the matter, Heero?" said Sally, who looked quite pleased at his predicament, "Girl troubles? You know, you could always call Duo for advice…"

"That's not going to happen," said Heero with a glare.

Sally sighed. "And here I thought you'd loosened up a bit. You've still got a long ways to go."

"Okay," said Sasami, "here we go!"

Just like before, there was a blinding flash of green light, forcing Heero to shield his eyes. When he finally felt comfortable opening them he found himself on the floor of Base Green's cavernous hangar along with the others.

 _That method of transportation's going to take some getting used to_ , he thought, feeling a little bit disoriented.

"Well done, Sasami," said Sally, "Welcome to Base Green, everyone."

While Heero had been here once before, that didn't detract much from the impression the massive hangar made. It was one thing to see it while inside Sasami's ship, but it was quite another to be standing on the floor and looking up as the huge, thick doors above slowly began to close. It was a very large rectangular area, with catwalks running all along the sides. Groups of technicians and mechanics were milling about, all looking awestruck at Sasami's vessel. Heero certainly couldn't blame them for that; even after his close encounter with the _Ryu-Oh_ , seeing another Jurai Royal Treeship up close really was quite an experience.

Ryoko whistled. "Wow… this place is really something. I could probably fit Ryo-Ohki's ship-form in here."

"This must've been exorbitantly expensive to build," said Ayeka thoughtfully, "How in the world did the government finance a base like this?"

"The old Alliance prioritized military expenditure over everything else in the budget," said Sally, "Funding the construction of a base like this was nothing to the top brass. They didn't care that it came at the expense of programs designed to actually help the people, and they had their heads so far up their asses that they didn't see that it was exactly that kind of callous disregard for those they ruled that was playing into the growth of a rebellion."

Heero nodded. "Particularly with the colonies; they were bleeding us dry in their efforts to fund their military machine."

"The colonies?" asked Ryoko, "You mean those big habitats I saw up in orbit? You're from one of those, Heero?"

"Yes," said Heero grimly, "and I was part of their rebellion."

He saw Ryoko's eyes widen, and she wasn't the only one who looked surprised. Ayeka and Mihoshi appeared just as shocked, while Sasami looked on in puzzlement and Sally simply nodded in recognition.

"Hang on," said Ryoko, "You're supposed to be a government agent, right?"

"Forgive me, Sir Heero, but I'm quite confused," said Ayeka, "You're a peacekeeper, not a rebel, am I not correct?"

"I am now," said Heero carefully, "but that wasn't always the case."

"The Preventers peacekeeping organization was founded under the Earth Sphere Unified Nation," said Sally, "That is the group that Heero and I work for, and we do indeed serve the current government. However, this government was preceded by two others; the United Earth Sphere Alliance and OZ. It was those two entities that the colonies rebelled against, and if you knew the history of their rule you certainly wouldn't blame them."

"That's a long story," said Heero, "and one that we don't have time for right now."

Sally nodded. "True. Please, follow me."

Sally took the lead as she showed them out of the hangar, but as they left the vast chamber Heero could feel the eyes of Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi studying him intently. That wasn't too surprising; he'd just dropped a bombshell on them, and that was without going into detail on his time with the colonial resistance movements or his active role in the bloody Eve Wars.

 _Since Ryoko's a pirate I suspect that she'd have an easier time accepting some aspects of my past_ , he mused, _Rebellion against the government probably strikes a chord with her. Ayeka and Mihoshi, though… as a princess and a cop they're about as representative of established order as one can be. I'm not sure what they'd think of my past actions…_

He found himself looking at Ryoko for a moment. Even if she might be able to sympathize with his former position as a rebel, he wondered if she'd really be able to accept some of the things he'd done in his time in the rebellion. Gundam pilots had built a reputation on leaving legions of corpses in their wake during the last war, but Heero had already stacked up a body count well before the launching of Operation Meteor.

Her eyes met his, and he knew that he'd been caught. "Hey, what's up, Heero?"

Heero shook his head. "It's nothing."

They continued to follow Sally in silence through the winding halls of Base Green until they wound up in the mess hall. It was quite spacious, but it was sparsely populated at the moment; they'd arrived well after the scheduled dinner times for the soldiers assigned to the base.

"Ryoko, Ayeka, Mihoshi," said Sally, "I would appreciate it if the three of you would remain here for a while. Heero's going to need some one-on-one time with Sasami."

"Why is that?" asked Ayeka nervously.

"I need to interview her," said Heero, "Just like I did with you, Ryoko, and Mihoshi when you first arrived."

Ayeka nodded. "I understand. Sir Heero, I trust that you will be patient and fair with my younger sister?"

"Of course," Heero replied, "I promise that she'll be in good hands, Ayeka."

Ayeka smiled. "I believe you, Sir Heero. Sasami, please go with Sir Heero. I will wait here with the others until you two are done."

Sasami smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

"What about you?" asked Heero as he turned to Sally, "Will you be taking part in the questioning at some point?"

"Perhaps," said Sally, "For now, though, I was simply planning on observing you and Sasami, nothing more."

Heero nodded before turning to Sasami. "Please, follow me."

"All right," said Sasami before waving to her sister and the others, "I'll see you all later. Ayeka, don't fight with Ryoko, okay?"

Ayeka nodded. "I will be a model of restraint and patience, Sasami."

"Sure," said Ryoko dryly.

"Don't worry, Sasami," said Mihoshi with a smile, "I'll make sure they get along!"

 _Somehow I very much doubt that_ , thought Heero, _I'd better make this interview a quick one and wrap it up before they tear the base apart…_

….

Her arms folded and a small smile on her face, Sally watched from the other side of the two way mirror as Heero interviewed Sasami. True to his word to Ayeka, Heero was taking things slowly and gently, asking Sasami very simple questions and patiently listening as she replied. The approach was surprisingly friendly for him; although he still had that same calm and cool expression on his face, Sally could tell from his body language that he was trying to be more relaxed than he normally was in interrogations. Sasami seemed to reciprocate; the princess continued to smile, and her overall demeanor remained very warm as she responded to Heero's queries.

 _Such an interesting young girl_ , thought Sally, _She seems innocent enough, and yet there's something about her that I can't quite describe. A certain wisdom hidden just beneath the surface… it's as though she catches on to far more than she lets others be aware of._

The girl would bear further watching, and Sally was confident that Heero was just the young man to do it. Sally already planned to have Sasami stay with Heero and the others, but just for a little while. Preventers would study the girl's ship for a brief period, but if Sasami intended to retrieve her older sister and take her back to Jurai Sally did not plan on indefinitely impeding her. She was sure that Lady Une would see the wisdom here as well; if both Ayeka and Sasami left Earth with a positive impression that would be a great boon for the United Earth Sphere Alliance when the Empire of Jurai decided to make official first contact.

 _Any civilization that can travel between star systems as casually as we fly between Earth and the colonies is far more powerful than us by default_ , she mused, _In a case such as this it is diplomacy that serves as our best chance to ensure our survival and prosperity._

"So," she heard Heero say, "let me recap to make sure I didn't miss anything. Ayeka took a roaming holiday because she's being sought after by suitors in the imperial capital and she wanted to get away for a while. She's fully aware that she must eventually return to Jurai to enter into a marriage with one of these suitors for the good of the Empire and her family. You left Jurai to search for her because you were worried about her due to her prolonged absence, and you intend to take her back to the capital. That's your story in a nutshell, correct?"

Sasami nodded. "I hadn't seen or heard from her in so long, I was afraid something had happened to her. Thank you for keeping her safe!"

Heero nodded. "You're welcome."

"I hope she wasn't too much of a burden," said Sasami.

Heero shook his head. "Not at all. It's been a privilege to look after her and get to know her."

Sasami smiled. "That's nice of you to say. I'm sure you've had your hands full. You're not just watching over Ayeka, but Mihoshi and Ryoko too!"

"I'm managing," Heero replied, "It's been an… interesting experience, having them all stay under my roof."

Sally had to laugh at that. 'Interesting experience' was a mild way of putting things if what Heero had reported to her was any indication of the antics he had to put up with on a daily basis thanks to his three guests.

"So, Heero," said Sasami, "what's going to happen next? How long am I going to stay in this base?"

"Not long," Heero replied, "Sasami, you have to understand that we want to learn as much about you and your ship as possible. An encounter with someone like you is not something we're used to on this planet."

"What makes me so special?" asked Sasami, "Is it because I'm a princess."

"It has more to do with the fact that you, Ayeka, Ryoko, and Mihoshi are all from worlds that are not our own," said Heero, "We've always wondered if there was life out in the galaxy beyond our star system. Now we have proof, but that's not enough for us. We're not as technologically advanced as you; I'm sure you could tell that when you got close to Earth."

Sasami nodded. "Yeah… but those big colonies up in orbit were so cool! Aren't you proud of those?"

"We are," Heero replied, "but you know that those are nothing compared to the ability to travel between stars. We need to learn as much as possible about both you and your ship so we have a chance to gain abilities like that for ourselves. It's also why we were at the lake when you approached; Mihoshi's ship had crashed there, and we were studying it."

"What about _Ryu-Oh_?" asked Sasami, "My ship detected her beacon coming from that lake; that's how I was able to find your planet and why I chose that spot to land. _Ryu-Oh_ 's in that lake, so you've been able to study it too, haven't you?"

Heero shook his head. "We haven't been able to get to it, actually. Ayeka said it's in the middle of its healing process at the bottom of the lake, which is why it's disrupting the water around it; it doesn't want anyone coming close to it."

Sasami nodded. "Oh, that makes sense. Is it the same for Ryoko's ship?"

"I think so," Heero replied, "Either way, we've been unable to approach Ryo-Ohki or _Ryu-Oh_ , so your vessel's the only chance we have to study a living starship."

Sasami smiled. "I see. In that case, I'm fine with you taking a look at it. However… how long is that going to take?"

 _That's the million credit question_ , mused Sally, _I know Lady Une would like to hold onto that ship for as long as possible, but I don't think that's really practical for us. We already have one Juraian princess staying on Earth, and now a second one's shown up here too. We can't hold them indefinitely, even in Heero's observational custody. Someone in their Empire's bound to take notice and make serious search efforts at some point, and if we're not careful it could look like we've captured Ayeka and Sasami and are refusing to release them. The last thing we need is to spark a war with a galactic monarchy._

"It depends," said Heero, "Obviously, we want to learn as much about it as we can. However, we're also aware that you and Ayeka will eventually need to return to Jurai. I'm sure we'll be able to come to some kind of an arrangement."

Sasami nodded. "Okay. I really just wanted to make sure that Ayeka was safe. Now that I've found her we don't need to hurry to get back to Jurai. We can stay for a little while, can't we?"

Sally had to smirk at Heero's cautious answer. "I'm… sure we can make an arrangement regarding that as well."

 _He's just praying that doesn't involve her moving in with him_ , she thought, _Too bad, Heero. Just put up with it for a while. Once Sasami leaves she'll be able to take Ayeka with her, and probably Mihoshi too. Not so sure about Ryoko, though. There's a lot of friction there. You might just have to get used to having her in your apartment long term…_

Heero might not have mentioned any specifics regarding what he knew about Ryoko's past activities, but Sally was no fool. There was a difference between simple ignorance and omissions, and Heero was clearly giving her and Lady Une the latter when it came to information about Ryoko. Sally would let him keep up the deception; if Ryoko was a genuine threat Sally was sure Heero would inform them and take the appropriate measures to contain or neutralize her.

If Sasami was concerned at all she gave no sign of it. The girl was remarkably well composed given her situation, something that Sally chalked up to her royal upbringing.

Sally pressed a key on the wall triggering the intercom built into the room. "Heero, that's enough for now. Why don't you take her back to her sister and the others? I'm sure she could use a bite to eat."

Sasami nodded and smiled. "Some food does sound good right about now. I'm hungry!"

"Very well," said Heero.

Sally met the two of them by the door to the interrogation room.

"Are you coming with us?" asked Heero.

Sally shook her head. "No. I'm meeting Director Une in the main control room. Go on ahead to the mess hall. Director Une and I will meet you there later."

"Understood," Heero replied.

….

Ayeka eyed the closest door anxiously. "I hope she's all right."

It had been quite some time since Heero had left with her sister and Sally, and the Juraian princess was getting worried. Now that she was over the shock of seeing Sasami on Earth, Ayeka was now dealing with fresh concerns. Chief among them was how Sasami would adjust to this new planet… and how she would react to Heero.

She wasn't concerned about Heero treating Sasami poorly; far from it. He'd been nothing but polite and kind to Ayeka ever since she'd first arrived on Earth, and she fully expected him to show Sasami the same courtesy. However, there was no denying that Heero's guarded nature could make him rather intimidating at times, and she hoped that Sasami would not take it the wrong way.

 _Lady Sally is with them_ , thought Ayeka, _and if Sasami draws a false impression of Sir Heero then I'm sure she'll be able to counteract it._

Granted, it was hard to know what Sasami would make of her handsome guardian when she was having trouble discerning just who he really was behind his walls of stoicism. She truly believed him to be an honorable and compassionate young man despite his sometimes cold demeanor, but Ayeka had been startled to realize just how little she really knew about him. His revelation about having been some sort of rebel in the past had completely blown her away. She was so used to seeing him as an upstanding citizen and protector of the peace that it was hard to imagine him being involved in any sort of insurrection.

Her father was for the most part a kind and honorable ruler, but if there was on lesson he had made damn sure to impart upon Ayeka it was that those who engaged in open rebellion against their leader had to be dealt with swiftly and ruthlessly. The Emperor of Jurai had no objections to civil dissent; indeed, open dialogue and debate over imperial policies was encouraged as a means to ensure that the best possible solution could be reached for all parties involved. However, her father had always believed that armed revolt was never an option. Reform had to come from within the system, and it had to be peaceful; change that came about through bloodshed was not a transformation that could ever be considered just or fair.

These were beliefs that Ayeka had long adhered to, but the young man who had looked after her ever since she had arrived on Earth did not seem anything like the violent insurrectionists and terrorists that she had been taught to fear in the past. It was true that he was a capable soldier, and with that of course came a talent for violence, but Heero was so calm and disciplined that Ayeka found it impossible to see him as anything other than what she had met him as; an operative charged with protecting the peace of his world.

 _Sir Heero_ , she thought, _There is so much about you that I do not understand, and yet… even with this revelation, I find that I still trust you. It is true that I wish to learn more about you so that I may better comprehend just who you truly are, but I still have faith in you. You are an honorable and intelligent soldier, one who has shown me nothing but courtesy and kindness despite the fact that I literally shot you down on our first meeting. How could you have ever been a rebel?_

The very idea of him having once been part of an insurrection was worrying to her, yet at the same time Ayeka could not deny an intense curiosity regarding it. She really wanted to ask Heero about it, but she had a hard time figuring out how she might do that. He may have been polite and kind with her, but he was also guarded, and even though he had only briefly mentioned his past she could tell that it was not a subject he treated lightly. His voice had been grim at the time even though it had really been just a passing reference to his history.

She heard the mess hall door open and saw Heero and Sasami enter. Sally was absent, but the two of them did not seem concerned by it. Ayeka forced a smile as her sister and her host approached. Now was hardly an appropriate time to be asking Heero about something as personal as his past, especially with her sister and the others around. She would find another opportunity to inquire about it, and hoped that he would be willing to entrust her with the details.

"Ayeka!" said Sasami.

"Is everything all right, Sasami?" asked Ayeka.

Her little sister nodded. "Uh-huh. Miss Sally told us to come back here and grab something to eat while she talked to the Director."

"I suspect the two of them will be coming down here in a little while," said Heero, "In the meanwhile, we might as well relax."

"Not that we haven't been doing that already," said Ryoko dryly, "Come on, Heero, I'm bored! Isn't there anything fun we can do around here?"

"Ryoko's right!" said Mihoshi, "We can't just sit around here all night!"

"My orders are to stay with all of you in this room until Sally and the Director come here," said Heero firmly, "Until I hear otherwise, that's what I'll be doing. Come on, Sasami, let's get you something to eat."

"Okay!" said Sasami, still as bright as ever.

Ayeka sighed as she watched Heero lead Sasami over to a nearby counter where they could dish up. If those were Heero's orders then there was nothing that could be done about it for now.

After the two of them got their food they joined Ayeka and the others at the table they'd been sharing. They ate in relative silence for a while until Ayeka decided to break it.

"So, Sasami," she said, "how was the interview?"

"It was fine," her sister replied, "Heero had a lot of questions. I got to tell him all about my ship and Jurai!"

"Your sister is quite knowledgeable," said Heero, "and she was very cooperative."

Ayeka smiled. "I'm just glad that everything went well."

"Are any more royals gonna be dropping by here?" asked Ryoko, her eyes narrowing.

Sasami shook her head. "Not for right now. I don't think anyone else knows where I went."

"Then how are we going to get home?" asked Mihoshi.

"There's no need to worry about that," said Ayeka, somewhat exasperated, "Sasami's ship is in one piece, remember? Once we're through here we can take that back to the Empire."

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, I didn't think about that!"

 _Do you ever think about anything?_ , Ayeka mentally fumed, _My goodness, how in the name of Jurai did you ever become a member of the Galaxy Police?_

"Heero did say that his group wanted to study my ship for a while," said Sasami, "but once that's done we'll be able to go home."

That provision was one Ayeka had some concerns about. Jurai Treeships were iconic vessels of the Empire, and specifics behind how they worked were closely guarded secrets. There were people back in Jurai who would raise objections to outsiders, particularly from a less technologically advanced society, having access to such a vessel. However, Ayeka's hands were tied in the matter. This was not the Empire; she would have to work with Heero and this Preventers organization for the time being.

 _Sir Heero and Lady Sally do not seem like the types that would abuse the power of a Jurai Treeship_ , she thought, _I have not yet met this 'Director' that oversees their operations, but I do not believe that people as upstanding as Sir Heero and Lady Sally would work under her if she was not worthy of their respect and trust._

"Well," said Ayeka, "as long as the vessel is treated with care and respect, I suppose that's all right. Sir Heero, do you happen to know how long this study period will last?"

Heero shook his head. "That's not up to me. However, I'll argue on your behalf to keep it a reasonable length. We won't hold the ship indefinitely, but we do want to learn as much about it as we can."

Ayeka smiled. "Of course. I appreciate your efforts on behalf of my sister and I, Sir Heero."

Heero nodded. "Don't mention it."

"What about my ship?" asked Mihoshi, "You guys will release that at some point, right?"

"What would you do with it?" asked Heero, "You yourself said that the vessel was a total loss during our examination, remember?"

Mihoshi hung her head. "Oh, right. I forgot about that. Never mind."

"What about your ship, Ryoko?" asked Sasami, "Heero said that his people hadn't been able to get close to it. Is it stuck here forever?"

Ryoko shook her head and smiled. "Nope, not even close. Ryo-Ohki just needs a little bit more time to heal. She'll be good to go soon enough."

"The sooner the better," Ayeka mumbled, "You've been on this planet for far too long, and it will be better off the moment you leave it."

Ryoko smirked. "Who said I was planning on leaving anytime soon, Ayeka? I happen to like this planet. It's grown on me… especially its handsome protector."

Ayeka scowled as she saw Ryoko giving Heero a lascivious look. The space pirate's crude nature truly tried her patience, and it was all the worse that the criminal had set her sights on her noble host.

Ryoko's attentions towards Heero brought to the forefront a dilemma that Ayeka had always known that she would have to confront. As the crown princess of Jurai it was her duty to eventually return to the Empire and marry a suitor. However, in the time that she had spent with Heero her resolve to go through with her duty to the Empire had been noticeably shaken… thanks in no small part to her handsome host.

 _Why do I feel this way?_ , she thought, considerably flustered, _I've always known that I would eventually marry a man from one of the Juraian noble houses. I accepted that long ago, and I'm sure that one of the potential suitors waiting for me back home would be a good match. Sir Heero is a common soldier, so why am I so hung up on him?_

The simple truth was that the only think common about Heero was the fact that, as far as Ayeka was aware of, he was not of noble blood. In every other regard there was nothing common whatsoever about her young host. He was a highly skilled and disciplined soldier, a cunning and insightful operative, a courteous and professional gentleman…

…and he was _very_ easy on the eyes.

"Ayeka," said Heero, "Are you all right?"

Ayeka blushed furiously, so embarrassed that she hadn't realized that she'd been staring at him until he caught her. She looked away hurriedly, doing her best to regain her composure.

"Oh, uhm, yes, Sir Heero!" she said frantically, "I'm quite all right."

"Sure you are," Ryoko muttered, her eyes narrowing.

Ayeka shot her a furtive glare. This rogue was absolutely insufferable! Her parents would've admonished her for allowing a common criminal like Ryoko to get under her skin like this, but it was something that Ayeka just could not help. However, she had told Heero that she would exercise patience during her stay at the base, so she did her best to contain her simmering anger.

Sasami laughed, and as Ayeka turned to her she saw her sister give her a knowing look. Sometimes it amazed Ayeka just how insightful Sasami was, although the crown princess would grudgingly admit that she wasn't exactly doing a good job of hiding how she felt about Heero.

It was at that moment that the doors to the mess hall opened. Through them walked two women. One Ayeka recognized as Sally Poe, while the other was a woman with long dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. She had a very mature bearing about her despite appearing to be only in her early twenties, and Ayeka realized that this must be Heero and Sally's commander.

"Hello, everyone," said Sally, "Sorry for the wait. I hope you're all doing okay."

"We're fine," Ryoko deadpanned, "apart from being bored out of our minds."

Ayeka was determined to present a better image than the foul pirate, so she gave the two women a smile and a bow. "Please, disregard her. We're quite all right, thank you for asking."

"Hey, Heero?" said Mihoshi as she pointed at the woman standing next to Sally, "Who's she?"

"You shouldn't point at people, Mihoshi," said Sasami with a pout.

The new woman chuckled. "It's quite all right, Sasami, although I do appreciate your concern. Sally was right; you're quite a proper young lady."

Ayeka felt a swell of pride in her sister at that moment. If she'd already made such a good impression with Heero and Sally's boss then that was a very good omen.

Heero stood up and stepped forward before turning back to Ayeka and the others. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce Preventers Director Lady Une. Director, this is Ayeka Jurai, her sister Sasami, Galaxy Police Detective First Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu, and Ryoko."

Lady Une smiled and nodded. "It's very nice to meet you all. I apologize for bringing you all out here, but I'm sure you understand that we have to take measures to keep something like Sasami's ship as under-the-radar as possible."

Ayeka nodded. "Of course, madam Director. I can certainly appreciate your need for discretion."

"How long are you going to keep us here?" asked Ryoko bluntly.

Lady Une smirked. "No need to worry, Ryoko. You'll all be released from here within the hour; we're already making arrangements to have the five of you transported back to Brussels."

"Oh," said Ryoko, surprised at the Director's easy response to her query, "Okay, then."

"Hold on a moment," said Mihoshi, her eyes narrowing, "You said the five of us, right? So Sasami's coming too?"

Ayeka was surprised at Mihoshi's unusual insightfulness. Perhaps there was a part of her that was suited to the role of Galaxy Police officer after all.

"Of course," Lady Une replied, "We have no desire to separate Ayeka and Sasami after they've just reunited. I see no reason why she shouldn't temporarily join the rest of you at Heero's apartment."

Ayeka looked over at Heero, who already seemed resigned to this proposal. "I'll find some room for her, but you're pushing my apartment to its limits, Director."

Lady Une nodded. "I'm aware of that, Heero. There's no need to worry; the situation will only last for two weeks. After that Sasami will be able to travel home, and take whomever she wishes along with her."

Ayeka was surprised by this. "Pardon me, madam Director, but did I just hear you right? You only plan to hold Sasami's ship for two weeks?"

"Yes," Lady Une replied, "I've talked the matter over with Sally, and I believe that this is a good compromise. While I would certainly like to hold the ship longer for study, I'm quite aware that Jurai will want both it and you back eventually. This gives us a chance to examine the vessel while also allowing you a path back to your Empire in a reasonable frame of time. I trust you have no objections with this arrangement?"

Ayeka shook her head and smiled, hardly able to believe her good fortune. "None at all! Sasami, I think this is quite a decent solution, don't you?"

Sasami smiled. "Sure do!"

"Yay!" cried Mihoshi, "Two weeks and then we get to go home!"

Ryoko smiled too, but Ayeka didn't like it. "Well, I guess I can get behind that if it gets you out of my hair."

"You don't wish to go with them, Ryoko?" asked Lady Une with a knowing look in her eyes.

Ryoko shook her head. "I kinda like it here. I certainly can't complain about my host!"

Sally smiled. "Well, we're both glad you're getting along with Heero. Still, are you sure about this?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," she replied, "Besides, Ryo-Ohki will heal on her own time, and eventually I'll fly out with her. No need for me to hitch a ride with Ayeka and the others."

Ryoko was far too pleased about this turn of events for Ayeka's liking. While Ayeka was no expert on Ryo-Ohki, she did know that it was a very unique living starship, and if Ryoko was that confident about its healing capabilities then there was no reason to doubt that she would eventually have the means to leave Earth. However, the way she kept looking at Heero when she had been talking about their host did not sit well with Ayeka, and it prompted second thoughts about her now two-week-away departure.

 _Damn that woman!_ , she mentally fumed, _I cannot just leave her with Sir Heero, but… I'm supposed to return home sooner or later! What am I supposed to do?_

It was fortunate that she had some time to work out that dilemma, but two weeks was not nearly long enough in her mind. How strange that she had longed to go home all this time, and yet now that the means to accomplish that was almost within reach she was having serious doubts.

Sasami grabbed her hand. "What's the matter, Ayeka?"

Ayeka shook her head and smiled for her sister. "It's nothing, Sasami."

"I'm a little pressed for space right now," said Heero, "I think I've still got room on the couch for one more though."

"Hey!" said Ryoko, folding her arms, "That's my spot!"

"Two people can sleep there in reasonable comfort," said Heero firmly, "You're sharing it with Sasami, Ryoko. This isn't up for debate."

Ryoko sighed. "Oh, all right. At least she's not Ayeka."

"Couldn't Sasami share my room?" asked Ayeka, "Surely Miss Mihoshi can take the couch instead, right?"

Mihoshi nodded. "I'm fine with that, Heero! Sasami can use my bedroll."

Heero nodded. "All right, that works too."

"Great," muttered Ryoko, "I get to share with the walking fire hazard."

"Aw, come on, Ryoko!" said Mihoshi with an innocent smile, "It'll be fun! We can stay up late and talk about stuff together! Like food, or Ayeka's sister, or Heero!"

"Sounds like a blast," Ryoko deadpanned, "Although that last one might not be too bad…"

"Perfect," said Sally, "It sounds like you've got an arrangement that will last you for the next two weeks."

"Will you need anything to handle the additional guest, Heero?" asked Lady Une.

Heero shook his head. "If it's only for two weeks I should be fine."

Lady Une smiled. "Excellent. I'll have a helicopter prepped for departure. You'll be back home in no time."

….

"Here we are," said Heero as he opened the door for his guests.

Sasami was the first through the door, her eyes wide with excitement as she looked at Heero's apartment. "Wow! This is a nice place, Heero!"

Heero nodded. "Thanks."

 _I'm impressed with her energy_ , he thought as he looked back and forth between her and the others, _Everyone else looks wiped out._

Not that he could blame Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi for their weariness. It had been a very long day, and it was nearly midnight as they all filed into the apartment. Heero would need to get the spare blankets out for Mihoshi since she'd be sleeping on the couch now, and after that it would be lights out for everyone.

As he closed the door he could see the others yawning. At least this meant that Ryoko and Ayeka would be too tired to engage in their usual bickering; that was the last thing that Heero wanted to deal with right now.

"Can we get something to eat, Heero?" asked Sasami, "Please?"

"You gotta be kidding me," Ryoko mumbled, "Kid, didn't you have dinner at the base?"

"Surely you cannot still be hungry," said Ayeka, "Are you, Sasami?"

"Well, a little bit," Sasami replied, giving her sister a sheepish smile.

"Why don't we all have some dessert?" asked Mihoshi brightly.

Ryoko shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"I suppose that would be nice," said Ayeka, "Sir Heero, would that be all right?"

Heero nodded, a little taken aback by the request but willing to play along. "If it's dessert you want, I should have some ice cream in the fridge."

Ryoko perked up at that. "Oh, nice! I want a cherry on top of mine, Heero!"

"What's a cherry?" asked Sasami.

"Yay!" said Mihoshi, "We can make chocolate sundaes!"

Even Ayeka couldn't help but get in on the excitement. "Oh, that sounds delicious! Sir Heero, extra chocolate syrup for mine, please!"

"I want extra whip cream!" said Mihoshi.

Heero couldn't help but smirk at their enthusiasm. "I'll see what I can find in the fridge. Good thing I went shopping again a few days ago."

As the others went to the living room Heero headed for the kitchen. Digging through the fridge and the freezer he found what he needed, and after getting out the dessert, the bowls, and the silverware he turned back to his guests. Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi had already settled in on the couch, while Sasami had gone over to Ayeka's two cylindrical guardians.

"Azaka, Kamidake!" said Sasami, "You're here too!"

"Hello, Princess Sasami!" said Azaka, "It is good to see you again."

"What a pleasant surprise!" said Kamidake, "We did not expect to see you on this planet."

"All right," said Heero, "Everything's ready. Come in here and I'll dish you up."

The four girls eagerly crammed into the kitchen as Heero made their sundaes. After everyone else had been served Heero made a small bowl for himself before joining his female companions on the couch in the living room, taking a seat between Ryoko and Ayeka.

"Mmm," said Sasami as she eagerly dug into her sundae, "This is really good!"

"Sasami," said Ayeka, "please, you need to slow down. Otherwise you'll… oh dear."

Ayeka's warning had come too late; Sasami was clutching her forehead. "Ow… why does it hurt?"

"It's called a brain freeze," said Heero, "It happens when you eat ice cream too fast. Listen to your sister and take it slow. That way you'll actually enjoy it."

Sasami nodded. "Got it."

The five of them continued to eat in relative silence. Heero was surprised by how relaxing he found the experience to be. Here he was with four women from way beyond the Sol system, just sitting back on the couch after a long day enjoying ice cream. He chalked it up to just another one of the unique experiences these exotic women had brought into his life.

Eventually the five of them finished up. As Heero collected the bowls and silverware he saw Sasami yawn. Her weariness was infections; soon the other three women were making their exhaustion from the day's events quite clear.

"Where am I sleeping?" asked Sasami, repeatedly blinking her eyes as she struggled to stay awake.

Heero nodded at her sister. "Ayeka, take Sasami back to your room. I'll get things set up out here for Mihoshi."

Ayeka nodded and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Come along, Sasami. I think you've had enough excitement for one day."

Sasami nodded and yawned again. "Okay. Goodnight, Heero."

"Goodnight, Sasami," said Heero, "Ayeka."

Ayeka smiled at him. "Goodnight, Sir Heero."

"Goodnight, Princess," said Azaka and Kamidake in unison.

As Ayeka took her sister to bed Heero got Mihoshi set up on the opposite end of the couch from Ryoko. He was concerned that Ryoko would fight the arrangement again, but luckily the space pirate seemed too tired to argue against it at this point.

"Thank you, Heero," said Mihoshi once he finished up.

Heero nodded. "Anytime. Do either of you need anything else?"

Mihoshi tried and failed to stifle a yawn as she lay down. "I'm good."

Ryoko nodded and gave him a tired smile. "Same here. Hell of a day, huh, Heero?"

"Yeah," said Heero, "It really was."

Ryoko lay back on the couch and yawned. "Don't worry about us. I won't cause any trouble. I'm down for the night. You should get some sleep too; you look like you could use it."

Heero nodded. "I'll see you both tomorrow morning. Goodnight Ryoko, Mihoshi."

"Mmm," Mihoshi mumbled, already halfway off to dreamland, "Goodnight…"

"Goodnight, Heero," said Ryoko.

….

 **September 19** **th** **, A.C. 198**

It was very late evening and everyone else had gone to bed as Ryoko sat up on the couch, dressed in her familiar tunic and leggings. Poking Mihoshi in the head, Ryoko smirked when the sleeping Galaxy Police officer didn't so much as flinch.

 _Heh_ , she thought, _Out like a light._

Looking over at Azaka and Kamidake, she saw that each machine's lights were dim. Neither seemed to be paying any attention to her, which meant that she had her opening. Taking one last look around the room, Ryoko headed for the sliding door that led to the apartment's balcony. Rather than open it, though, she simply phased right through it and took off into the sky.

 _Enough time's passed by now_ , she thought, _She's got to be ready to come out of hibernation._

Gaining altitude, she took off in the direction of Lake Genval. It was quite dark out, so she wasn't worried about anyone spotting her. Normally she wouldn't care if someone did, but she was conscious of the fact that such a sighting could potentially cause trouble for Heero, and she wanted to avoid that for now.

 _I've got plenty of trouble in store for him anyway_ , she mused with a grin, _If I give him too much it won't be nearly as fun!_

She could hardly contain her excitement as she flew towards the lake. Already plans were buzzing through her mind. Oh, the fun she could have… her smile became devious as she thought of a trick that she could play on the others when she got back.

"A nice little shock for Ayeka," she said, "and it might just shake up Heero a bit too!"

A few minutes later and she was over the surface of the lake. Ryoko made a gradual descent, her eyes narrowing in concentration as she looked down at the water. About a minute later she smiled again as she saw an orb of red light glow beneath the surface.

"All right!" she said, "About time, Ryo-Ohki!"

With that, she disappeared into thin air.

….

 **September 20** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"How am I doing, Heero?" asked Sasami.

Heero looked over at Sasami and nodded in approval at the scrambled eggs in her pan. "Very good. You're picking this up pretty quickly."

Sasami smiled. "Thanks."

It had been a pleasant surprise for Sasami to volunteer to help Heero with his cooking duties. After the incident with Mihoshi Heero had been rather hesitant to allow another one of his guests free reign in the kitchen, but Sasami had proven to be the polar opposite of the hapless space cop when it came to culinary arts.

 _She's a natural_ , thought Heero, sparing her another glance while he checked on the sausages, _Rather unusual for a princess to know her way around a kitchen. Not that I'm complaining. It's nice to have a little bit of help in here. Cooking large meals isn't easy._

He moved on to the pancakes and saw that they were coming along just fine too. Everything would be ready in just a few more minutes.

"I'll get the plates and silverware," said Heero, "Do you mind keeping an eye on things over here?"

Sasami nodded and smiled. "Sure."

As he turned to his new task Heero found himself musing on the past few days. The day after he'd brought Sasami to his apartment he'd gone through what had sort of become his standard operating procedure for getting alien houseguests settled in; he'd take her out to the mall to get her some normal clothes to help her blend in. The others had come along with them, and after the initial batch of shopping they'd spent some time showing Sasami around the capital. They'd done more sightseeing the following days, and while most of the places they'd gone were ones that Heero had already taken the others to it had still been an entertaining experience.

She was very similar to her sister as far as her manners went, although she was much less formal than Ayeka was. Sasami seemed to be much more relaxed than Ayeka, something that Heero was partially willing to chalk up to her being they younger sibling. Still, every now and then he would catch this strange look in her eyes, like she understood more about a particular situation than she was willing to let on. While displaying a great deal of youthful innocence, Heero was surprised to find that she could sometimes have a much cooler head than Ayeka. She could be quite calm when she wanted to be, and seemed to possess some odd sort of wisdom that Heero couldn't pin down.

"Heero!" called Sasami, "I think everything's ready!"

Looking over at the food on the stove, Heero saw that his newest houseguest was quite correct. "Okay, then. Sasami, turn off the stove and round up the others. I'll start dishing everyone up."

"Got it!" she replied.

As she did so Heero took a brief glance out the nearby window. It was raining today, which the Perfect Soldier was actually kind of grateful for; it would be an excuse to stay indoors. As much as he enjoyed going out with everyone, he found that he was actually looking forward to having a day in at the apartment to kick back and relax. Lady Une and Sally still hadn't seen fit to send him any reports to review as a stay-at-home analyst, so he planned on catching up on some light reading… provided his guests let him.

 _Maybe I'll get lucky and things will stay calm today_ , he thought as he put food on everyone's plates, _Calm, with this bunch… who am I trying to kid here?_

He had just finished dishing everyone up when his four female houseguests came into the kitchen, with Sasami at the front of the pack. "I brought everyone, Heero!"

Heero nodded at her and gestured to the plates and cups on the counter. "I gave you all equal amounts, so grab whatever plate you want."

"It looks delicious," said Ayeka as she grabbed her plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage, "Thank you very much, Sir Heero! You too, Sasami!"

"Damn," said Ryoko with a grin, "You two are really something. This smells great!"

"Thanks a lot, Heero and Sasami!" said Mihoshi.

Sasami grinned. "You're welcome. Let's eat! Come on, Heero!"

"All right," said Heero as he grabbed a plate and a glass of orange juice before joining his companions in the living room.

The five of them sat down on the couch around the coffee table and began to dig in. Heero savored his first taste of the scrambled eggs and gave Sasami an approving nod.

"These taste excellent, Sasami," he said, "Good work."

Sasami beamed at him. "Thank you, Heero!"

"Mmm," said Ryoko as she wolfed down her sausage, "Good as always, Heero!"

"Yummy!" said Mihoshi between mouthfuls of pancakes.

"I couldn't agree more," said Ayeka heartily, "Superb work, both of you!"

"Aw, shucks," said Sasami, "Thanks, Ayeka!"

Meals like this had really become the norm around Heero's apartment ever since the place had become an impromptu boarding house for alien women, but it was good to see that his cooking hadn't gotten old for his companions. It was really a shame that Sasami would be leaving in about a week and a half; it was nice having her help out with the food, and her skills continued to improve with every meal.

"So," said Ryoko, "what's the plan for today?"

"I was thinking we'd stay home this time," said Heero, nodding towards the window, "The weather's not lending itself to any outdoor activities today."

Ayeka followed his gaze and looked out at the rain. "Quite so. Very well, then. I suppose a day in will be a nice change of pace."

"Whatever shall you do to keep yourselves entertained?" asked Azaka in the background.

"I just hope it doesn't involve the Princess and Ryoko fighting again," said Kamidake.

"We can watch TV!" said Mihoshi, "Oh, I wonder what's on today?"

"That sounds fun!" said Sasami.

Ayeka shook her head. "Really, you cannot watch that thing all day. Surely it cannot be healthy for you."

"Lighten up, Ayeka," said Ryoko, "Just kicking back on the couch watching shows for a day won't hurt anyone."

 _As long as it keeps you all out of trouble_ , thought Heero as he chewed on his pancakes.

They cleared their plates a few minutes later, and Heero went around collecting the dishes for washing. As he did so he saw Ryoko rub her stomach, a nauseous look appearing on her face.

"Oh," she said as she hastily stood up, "I'll be right back!"

She rushed towards the bathroom, and a few seconds later Heero heard retching sounds. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the plates he was carrying. The food had tasted fine; he and Sasami hadn't messed anything up, had they?

A few seconds later Ryoko came back into the living room. "Man… I don't know what came over me there."

"Are you okay?" asked Heero.

Ryoko nodded. "I think so. Maybe it was something in those eggs…"

"That's odd," said Ayeka, "I ate them and I feel just fine."

"Me too," said Mihoshi.

"Oh, no," said Sasami, looking down in shame, "I messed up the eggs, didn't I?"

Heero shook his head. "I don't think so. I ate those eggs and I feel all right."

"Something's not right," said Ayeka, her eyes narrowing, "Ryoko, you've eaten this exact same kind of eggs before without ill effect. What are you up to?"

"Why do you have to be so paranoid?" Ryoko pouted, "I get sick from one batch of eggs and you have to go all attack-dog on me! You're so cruel, Ayeka!"

Ayeka folded her arms and scowled. "Hardly. Don't play the victim with me, Ryoko! You've hatched some dastardly scheme, now out with it!"

"Ayeka, stop it!" said Sasami, "She wasn't feeling well!"

"Please don't fight, you two!" Mihoshi pleaded.

"That's enough," said Heero, "Ryoko, you said you're feeling okay now, right?"

Ryoko nodded. "I think so, yeah."

"Then there's nothing that we need to worry about here," said Heero, "If it happens again then we'll know something's up. Since we're not going out anywhere today, just relax and try not to exert yourself. That goes for the rest of you, too."

Ryoko smiled. "Sounds good, Heero."

Ayeka sighed. "Very well, Sir Heero."

As he took the dishes back into the kitchen Heero shot a quick glance at Ryoko. He wasn't going to full-on accuse her like Ayeka did, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this.

And the wink Ryoko threw his way certainly didn't help matters.

 _Just keep an eye on her_ , he silently told himself, _Observe, just like you've been doing. There's no need to do anything more… for now._

….

 **September 23** **rd** **, A.C. 198**

 _What's going on with her?_ , thought Heero as Ryoko quickly excused herself to rush off to the bathroom again.

They'd just finished lunch, a rather simple affair with sandwiches, chips and fruit, and already Ryoko seemed to be ill. It had been happening after every meal now since that breakfast three days ago, and however Ryoko might deny it Heero knew something was up. She was getting sick when no one else was, and that wasn't the only thing that was up with her.

In the time she'd spent with Heero, Ryoko had generally preferred clothing that exposed some skin, particularly her cleavage, in a constant effort to show off her body and flirt with him. However, since that first episode with the eggs three days ago she'd started wearing more conservative attire, usually consisting of something that fit loosely and did not emphasize her frame. Today was no different, and in fact the long-sleeved blue and yellow striped dress-robe with the orange sash had become her default ensemble.

Ryoko returned a few minutes later and smiled as she rubbed her belly. "Whew, I don't know what came over me there. Hey, could I get some pickles and ice cream?"

"Another craving?" asked Mihoshi, "Shouldn't you hold off on any more food for a while?"

Ryoko shook her head. "I don't know why, but right now I want that more than anything else!"

Those cravings had raised another red flag as far as Heero was concerned. They'd started up the day after the episode with the eggs, and had gone through a bizarre combination of food; pickles and ice cream seemed positively plain when compared to some of the stranger things Ryoko had requested.

"I'll go get you some," said Sasami.

However, she was stopped in her tracks by her older sister. "Sasami, there's no need to do that."

"But Ayeka…" said Sasami.

Ayeka shook her head and glared at Ryoko. "This little game of yours has gone on long enough, Ryoko. Now out with it! What are you scheming at?"

"Ayeka, stop it!" Mihoshi pleaded, "You're being mean!"

"She's right, Ayeka," said Ryoko, "Really, just what's gotten into you?"

"Don't play ignorant with me!" Ayeka snapped, "Your behavior over the last three days has been nothing but suspicious! I demand that you cease this charade at once and come clean!"

"Ayeka, cut it out!" said Sasami, "You shouldn't be fighting!"

Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied Ryoko carefully. Her sudden bouts of illness, her more conservative attire, the strange cravings… the pieces slowly began to fall into place, and Heero felt like an idiot for not recognizing them sooner.

 _No_ , he thought, _No, no, no, no,_ _ **no**_ _. That is_ _ **not**_ _what's happening here. It's just not possible._

Then Ryoko looked at Heero and sighed before giving what the Gundam pilot thought was supposed to be an apologetic smile, save for a mischievous look in her eyes. "Well, I guess there's no sense in hiding it any more. Heero, did you want to tell them or should I?"

"Tell us _what_?" Ayeka growled.

"What is it, Ryoko?" asked Sasami.

"Tell us the secret!" chirped Mihoshi.

"Ryoko," said Heero, "perhaps we should talk in private."

Ryoko smiled as she leaned into him and put her arm around him. "Oh, come on, Heero! There's no need to be embarrassed. I know I'm not."

Ayeka stood up and stamped her foot, absolutely seething with fury. "I have had enough of this! Out with it now, Ryoko!"

"Calm down, Ayeka," said Heero firmly before turning back to Ryoko, "Okay, Ryoko; spit it out."

Ryoko smiled at him and the others. "Well, the truth is… I'm pregnant."

There was a stunned silence, and Heero braced himself for the inevitable storm. Predictably, it came from Ayeka, who was already shaking her head vigorously.

"No," she said, her voice soft for now but quickly rising, "That cannot be… that just cannot be! That is _not_ possible!"

"Wow!" cried Mihoshi, her reaction a complete one eighty of Ayeka's, "That's amazing, Ryoko!"

"It most certainly is _not_!" shrieked Ayeka.

"Oh, dear," said Azaka, "Princess Ayeka, please calm down."

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Kamidake.

"Congratulations, Ryoko!" said Sasami, beaming, "Who's the father?"

 _Don't you dare say it_ , Heero thought as he looked at Ryoko, already knowing that his wish was in vain.

"Well," said Ryoko, her smile growing, "that would be… Heero."

If Ayeka looked pissed before, now she was an absolutely quivering tower of pure rage. " _No! You lie! There is no way that that can be true!_ "

"Ayeka, stop it!" said Sasami, grabbing the sleeve of her sister's kimono.

"Oh, it's no lie," said Ryoko as she pulled Heero close to him, rubbing her considerable bust against him, "Heero and I are madly in love! We meant to take things slow, but we just couldn't help ourselves! We made love, and now I'm pregnant with his child!"

Ayeka's face was as pale as a sheet of ice. "Sir Heero… surely she _cannot_ be telling the truth! You… you are so far above this common lowlife! Please, tell me that this is just another one of her lies!"

"Ryoko…" Heero said, only for the space pirate to put her hands over his mouth.

"Oh, it's okay, Heero!" she said, giving him a devious smile, "You don't have to hide it now. Everything's out in the open!"

"We need to have a baby shower!" said Mihoshi.

Sasami nodded with enthusiasm. "Oh, that'd be fun! I can make the food!"

"We're not having a baby shower!" Ayeka yelled, "This entire affair is a travesty!"

"Aw, why do you have to be such a party pooper, Ayeka?" Ryoko pouted, still fighting to keep her hands over Heero's mouth, "Can't you just set aside your petty feelings for once and be happy for me?"

" _Not in a thousand years!_ " she snarled.

 _How did I get into this mess?_ , Heero thought as he struggled to extricate himself from Ryoko's surprisingly powerful grip, _And how the hell am I going to get out of it?_

"Now," said Ryoko as she looked at Mihoshi and Sasami, "why don't we throw a party?"

"Yay!" said Mihoshi, "We can have cake and ice cream!"

"I want to bake the cake!" said Sasami.

"Absolutely not!" cried Ayeka, "Sasami, Mihoshi, you two will do no such thing! There will be no party!"

Suddenly Ryoko released Heero and stood up, her hands going to her belly. "Uh oh… it might be time!"

Sasami's eyes widened in shock. "What? You mean the baby's coming now!"

"Oh no!" cried Mihoshi, "What are we suppose to do?"

 _Give me a break_ , thought Heero, _How far is she going to take this prank?_

"I'll be right back!" Ryoko cried before running towards the bathroom.

The door slammed shut behind her, and a few seconds later Heero heard a series of exaggerated moans and groans. The Perfect Soldier shook his head; could this charade get any more ridiculous?

"Oh no!" said Sasami, "I hope she's okay!"

Mihoshi nodded. "Yeah. I hear childbirth's really painful!"

"Ryoko is _not_ giving birth in there!" shouted Ayeka, stomping her foot in frustration, "This is all just some elaborate and fiendish ruse!"

 _Agreed on the first part_ , Heero mused, _but I wouldn't call it fiendish. More like annoying and troublesome. I wonder when we'll hit the punch line with this joke of hers…_

After a few more minutes the bathroom door opened up and Ryoko walked out. She had something clutched close to her chest, but due to the long, loose fitting sleeves of her dress-robe Heero couldn't make out what it was.

Mihoshi and Sasami rushed forward excitedly.

"Is it a girl?" asked Sasami.

"I bet it's a boy!" said Mihoshi.

Ryoko smiled and held her arms out, and everyone's eyes widened at what they saw.

 _You've got to be kidding me_ , thought Heero, at a complete loss for words.

Ryoko was holding what appeared to be an egg. It was black and about the size of a large watermelon, with a glossy sheen.

"Well," said Ryoko, "here it is!"

"Wow!" said Sasami as she peered closely at the egg, "Can I touch it?"

Ryoko nodded. "Go right ahead, Sasami."

The princess reached out and rubbed the surface of the egg. "It's so smooth and warm!"

"Oh, me next, me next!" said Mihoshi.

Ryoko held the egg close to her chest. "Not a chance, Mihoshi. I don't want you to make me drop it, you klutz."

Mihoshi looked down in disappointment. "Aw, but I really want to touch it…"

"Out of my way!" said Ayeka as she stomped forward, "Let me see that thing! That cannot be the offspring of you and Sir Heero!"

Ryoko smirked. "What's the matter, Ayeka? Jealous? That's not really becoming of a princess, you know?"

"You dare to lecture me?" said Ayeka, "You're a damn pirate! You have no right!"

Heero watched the whole display with a very strange combination of curiosity and frustration. The fighting itself was not out of the ordinary, and while Heero had gotten used to playing the role of arbiter and peacemaker between the two it didn't mean that he enjoyed the role. On the other hand, he was genuinely interested in the egg that Ryoko was holding.

 _Where did she get something like that?_ , he thought, _What's really in there? It definitely isn't what she's claiming it to be, but I've got no idea what to expect here._

Ayeka made a grab for the egg. "Give me that!"

Ryoko fought back, and the two of them quickly began a tug-of-war over the egg. "No, it's mine! Get your hands off it, Ayeka!"

"Stop this!" said Mihoshi as she grabbed Ryoko from behind.

"Ayeka!" cried Sasami as she tried to pull her sister away, "You can't do this! That's Heero and Ryoko's baby!"

"It most certainly is not!" Ayeka shouted, "I will expose this rotten charade for what it is no matter what I have to do!"

"Let go of my egg!" growled Ryoko.

The two of them tugged back and forth, and all the while Heero continued to watch them, wondering if she should step in yet. The situation had become rather volatile thanks to Ryoko's mischievous nature and Ayeka's temper, and if it wasn't deescalated soon there was the risk that they'd start calling on their powers. Heero's apartment was well built, but he didn't think it could survive the kind of energy that Ryoko and Ayeka could throw around.

He was about to stand up when Ayeka suddenly managed to slip free of Sasami's restraint and lunged violently at Ryoko. The pirate lost her grip on the black egg as Ayeka collided with her, and the whole room went silent as it hit the floor.

Sasami gasped. "Oh no! Ayeka, look what you've done!"

The egg hadn't shattered, but the bottom was definitely cracked and fractured.

"Ayeka, how could you do that?" cried Mihoshi.

Despite her earlier anger, Ayeka seemed shocked by what had just happened. "I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

Sasami looked like she was about to cry. "It's broken…"

Suddenly the egg started to twitch back and forth, taking everyone by surprise. Heero's eyes narrowed as cracks continued to grow in the egg until suddenly what looked like a pair of white rabbit feet shot out of the bottom.

 _What the hell?_ , he thought.

Fissures spread out across the egg as it continued to shake, until finally the entire shell crumbled to pieces. What was standing in the middle of the fragments was definitely _not_ what Heero had expected.

The best way to really put it, from where the Gundam pilot was sitting, was that the creature that had hatched appeared to be a combination of a cat and a rabbit. It had dark grey fur, with the exception of its feet; both front and back were white. The way it stood, with most of its weight on its hind legs, was definitely akin to that of a rabbit. However, its wide yellow eyes and much of its upper body looked distinctly feline. The whiskers looked more like those of a cat than a rabbit as well. On its forehead was a feature found on neither cat nor rabbit; a red ovoid gem nestled in the fur above the eyes. The rabbit features took over again with a bushy tail in the rear and incredibly wide ears on its head, and while they were initially drooping down they immediately perked up when the creature saw that it was surrounded by people.

"Meow!" it cried, looking quite pleased with itself.

"Aw," said Mihoshi, "How cute!"

"She sure is," said Ryoko with a smile as she picked the creature up, "I think I'll call her Ryo-Ohki. What do you think, Heero? Do you like that name for your daughter?"

"That thing is not Sir Heero's progeny!" Ayeka growled.

"That's a pretty name," said Sasami, "I like it."

The pieces finally clicked in Heero's head, and he knew what he was looking at. "Ryo-Ohki was the name of your ship. You told me that she had a form other than that of the ship; this is it, isn't it?"

Ayeka's eyes widened. " _This_ is _the_ Ryo-Ohki?"

Ryoko burst out laughing. "Oh man, that was fun! Ayeka, you should've seen the look on your face when I said Heero was the father! That was _priceless_! And boy, Heero, I think I finally rattled you a little with that. Come on, admit it, you know I did!"

Heero ignored the jab, still concentrating on the creature in Ryoko's arms. "So she's completed her healing process, I take it?"

Ryoko nodded and sat down next to Heero on the couch, holding out the cat-rabbit creature. "Ryo-Ohki, I want you to meet someone very special. This is Heero. You remember him from when he helped us out up in orbit, right?"

The strange creature looked at him and took a quick sniff before giving what seemed like a happy cry. " _Meow!_ "

Ryoko smiled. "Aw, she _does_ remember you! Here, why don't you hold her, Heero?"

Heero was quite taken aback by this, but before he could protest Ryoko had dumped the creature right in his lap. Looking down at the cat-rabbit, he saw Ryo-Ohki looking up at him with those wide amber eyes. Not knowing what else to do, he found himself slowly reaching out to pet her on the head.

Ryo-Ohki seemed to enjoy it. Deciding to experiment a little, Heero began scratching behind her ears. That definitely got a reaction; the cat-rabbit started purring like a kitten.

"That's the sweet spot," said Ryoko with a grin, "You'd better be careful, Heero. Keep that up and she'll never leave you alone! That'll be two of us if you give me some of that action!"

"I want to pet her!" said Sasami as she leaned in.

"Me too! Me too!" chirped Mihoshi.

Ayeka wasn't rushing to join them. Studying her, Heero saw that her earlier anger seemed to have largely faded. In fact, she looked quite relieved now that Ryoko's joke was over.

"I should've known better," he heard her mutter, "Just another one of her pranks. Silly me, getting so worked up like that…"

Ryo-Ohki seemed quite pleased with all the attention she was getting, but then a soft rumbling came from her stomach and she let out a whimper.

"Uh oh!" said Sasami, "I think she's hungry!"

"What does she eat?" asked Mihoshi.

"Hmm," Ryoko mused, "I usually just give her a piece of whatever I'm able to get for a meal. She does really like her veggies, though."

Heero picked up Ryo-Ohki and passed her to Ryoko. "I'll see what I've got in the fridge. There should be something that she likes."

Heading to the kitchen and opening up the fridge, Heero found that it was rather slim pickings when it came to greens; clearly another shopping trip would be in order soon. He found a bag of cucumber slices an another of small carrots, so he grabbed those and put some of each into separate bowls before bringing them out and setting them on the coffee table.

"This is all we've got for vegetables right now," he said as he sat back down, "Let's see if she likes them."

Ryoko nodded and put Ryo-Ohki on the table next to the bowls. "Go ahead, girl. Dig in!"

Ryo-Ohki started with the bowl of cucumber slices, carefully taking one out and munching on it. She didn't seem to react positively or negatively and simply moved on to the carrot bowl. The strange creature grabbed a carrot and took a small bite. There was a brief pause before Ryo-Ohki gave a cry of joy and wolfed down the rest of the carrot before throwing her head into the bowl and going to town on the rest.

"Looks like we have a winner," said Ryoko.

Heero nodded. "I'll buy some extra carrots next time I go shopping. Is there anything else I should get for her?"

Ryoko shook her head. "She's pretty low maintenance, really. As long as we keep her fed and give her some attention she'll be fine."

Heero couldn't help but smirk as he watched Sasami and Mihoshi absolutely fawning over Ryo-Ohki as she finished off the carrots. Even Ayeka couldn't seem to resist getting in on the action; the creature's sheer cuteness factor was quite powerful.

"I think she's all set as far as attention goes," said Heero, "We'll just have to make sure to monitor how much she eats."

Ryoko smiled and surprised Heero by gently putting her hand on his arm. "You're really okay with this? Having her with us, I mean?"

Heero nodded. "I am… although I could've done without that elaborate pregnancy prank of yours."

Ryoko smirked. "Oh, come on, there was no way I could pass up a chance to pull that one off. You saw Ayeka freak out; don't tell me part of you didn't enjoy that!"

Heero chuckled. "No comment."

Ryoko sighed. "Fine, be that way."

As the two of them watched the others play with Ryo-Ohki Heero felt Ryoko briefly grab his hand. "Thanks, Heero. Really, I mean that."

Heero nodded. "Anytime."

….

 **September 25** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"Are you sure about this?" asked Ryoko as they all piled out of the car, "Aren't you worried about people seeing Ryo-Ohki?"

Heero shook his head. "She's unusual, but she won't cause too much of a stir. People will assume she's just some new animal breed. We'll be fine...although I'm surprised that you're actually taking the time to be worried about something like that."

Ryoko smiled. "I think I caused enough trouble for you with the whole pregnancy prank. Figured I'd take it easy on you for a little while."

Heero nodded. "I appreciate that."

"Come on, everyone!" said Sasami, "Let's go!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her perch atop Sasami's head.

"It's so pretty out today!" said Mihoshi.

The weather had cleared up from the downpour that had been hanging over Brussels the past few days, and when Heero had told Ryoko and the others that this would probably be their last chance to go outside and have some fun for a while the four women had immediately began planning an outing. Now here they were, at the capital city's largest park, all set for a picnic.

 _Normally this sort of thing isn't really up my alley_ , thought Ryoko, _but, what the hell. It's nice to get out for a little bit, and I'm sure Ryo-Ohki will like it out here._

It was partly cloudy overhead but still relatively warm, and the women had dressed to take advantage of it. For her part Ryoko had on a black skirt and a dark red blouse with a rather low neckline so she could give a certain young man a good teasing glimpse at what she had to offer. The others had decided on a typically less risqué approach; white blouse and blue jeans for Ayeka, pink t-shirt and jean shorts for Mihoshi, and a school-girl outfit for Sasami. For his part, Heero had simply gone with his usual, and Ryoko had to wonder if his wardrobe consisted of nothing other than green tank-tops and blue jeans. Then again, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing; a tank-top gave her a hell of a view at his well toned figure, and Ryoko was more than happy to eat up the eye candy.

"Hey!" said Mihoshi, "Hurry up! We need to find a good spot!"

"Just a minute," said Heero as he popped open the car's trunk to get the picnic supplies.

"Sir Heero!" said Ayeka, quickly rushing up, "Please, allow me to assist you!"

Heero looked at her and nodded. "All right. Thanks."

Ayeka looked over at Ryoko and smirked. Ryoko knew what was going on; she was doing every little thing she could to win points with him.

 _Go right ahead, Ayeka_ , she thought, _I don't need to be a baggage girl to get Heero's attention._

After the basket, cooler, and blanket had been removed and the car securely locked, everyone headed out onto the grass. Despite the beautiful weather the park wasn't all that crowded. Heero had told them earlier that it would be like this due to today still being part of the workweek, but Ryoko was still taken aback by how few people were there.

Sasami and Mihoshi ran ahead of the group and to the top of a small hill, with Ryo-Ohki hanging on for dear life to the top of Sasami's head. "Up here!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Sasami!" cried Ayeka, "Don't run too far ahead!"

"This is a good spot, Ayeka!" her sister replied, "We have to claim it!"

"Hurry up!" yelled Mihoshi.

Ayeka shook her head. "Oh, those two… I do believe that Mihoshi is rubbing off on her."

"Lighten up, Ayeka," said Ryoko, "Your sister's still a kid, and Mihoshi's… well, she's Mihoshi. Let em have some fun!"

"There's no harm in their enthusiasm," said Heero.

Ayeka looked at their host and smiled. "Well, if you're not worried, then I suppose it's all right."

As they joined Mihoshi and Sasami at the top of the hill Ryoko had to agree with the two of them; it was a pretty good spot. The little perch offered a nice view of most of the park and the city beyond.

"Stand back," said Heero as he unfurled the large blanket.

Once it was all spread out on the grass everyone began to claim spots, with Ryoko and Ayeka naturally jostling to get as close as they could to Heero. In the end the two rivals settled in on either side of Heero, although since Ryoko was close to both her host and the drink cooler she felt that she had the advantage.

She popped open the cooler. Heero hadn't packed any booze for this outing, but there were plenty of other drinks to go around. She pulled out a cola and turned to Heero.

"Something to drink?" she said with a smile.

Heero nodded, seeming just a tad surprised by her sudden generosity. "Thank you."

"Open up the basket!" cried Mihoshi, "I'm hungry!"

"Me too!" chimed Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Ayeka smiled. "Some food does sound delightful right now. Sir Heero, do you mind if we begin?"

"Sure," said Heero as he opened up the basket and took out some paper plates before moving on to the food, "Let me just sort these out."

Ryoko watched as Heero rifled through the basket and began pulling out some of the sandwiches he and Sasami had made and bagged before leaving. There was a good mix including salami, turkey, ham, and even a peanut butter and jelly one which Sasami had insisted on making for herself. Also stuffed in the basket were several small bags of chips, along with apples and a bag of small carrots for Ryo-Ohki.

"Two salamis," he said, "One for Ryoko, and the other one's mine."

"Thanks!" said Ryoko as she eagerly grabbed her sandwich.

"Sasami," said Heero as he passed her the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "that one's yours."

"Thank you!" she said.

"Ayeka," said Heero, "Yours was the turkey, right?"

Ayeka nodded enthusiastically as she accepted her sandwich. "Yes, indeed! Thank you, Sir Heero!"

"So the ham's Mihoshi's," said Heero as he passed the space cop her sandwich.

Mihoshi looked like she was about to start drooling. "Thanks, Heero!"

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki whined.

Ryoko patted her furry friend's head. "Relax, Ryo-Ohki. Heero wouldn't forget about you!"

Heero chuckled as he pulled out the bag of carrots and poured some on a paper plate before setting it in front of Ryo-Ohki. "There you go."

" _Meow!_ " she cried joyfully before immediately diving into her food.

Heero then passed out the chip bags and the fruit. Once that was done everyone started digging into their food.

Ryoko savored her first bite into her sandwich. "Man, this is good! You really know how I like this, Heero!"

Heero nodded. "You've been here long enough that I'd like to think I've learned at least a little about your tastes."

Ryoko gave a sly smile as she put her arm around him. "Keep this up and you'll have me eating out of the palm of your hand. What do you say to that, handsome?"

"Cut it out, Ryoko!" scowled Ayeka, "Can't you see Sir Heero is trying to eat? My word, it's unbelievable how rude you can be!"

Ryoko smirked. "You're just jealous because Heero knows what I like more than you do!"

"That's absurd!" said Ayeka, taking an exaggerated bite of her sandwich, "Sir Heero, I'll have you know that you made this perfectly! It's exactly the way I like it!"

"Actually, Sasami made that one," said Heero as he slipped out from Ryoko's arm, "I just told her how you'd prefer it be done."

"Oh," said Ayeka, looking like a bit of her thunder had been stolen, "Well, regardless, I appreciate the hand you had to play in it."

 _Hah!_ , thought Ryoko, _Score one for me!_

"Heero," said Sasami, "how come there aren't more people here? It's such a nice day!"

"Well, most adults would be working right now," said Heero, "and kids would be in school. That's where you would be right now if you were from Earth."

Sasami nodded. "I see."

"That's too bad," said Ayeka, "From what you told me before I understand that this is one of the last such days we'll have for the year. I'm certainly glad that we have this chance to enjoy it."

"This park is so big!" said Mihoshi.

Heero nodded. "It's the biggest one in Brussels. Once the rains start the crowds usually die off until the winter snowfall begins."

Ryoko smiled. "Now that would be fun, coming back here and having a snowball fight. Too bad Ayeka, Mihoshi, and Sasami won't be here for it!"

She shot a smirk her rival's way. The knowledge that eventually Sasami would be taking her older sister and the ditzy Galaxy Police officer away from Earth had helped Ryoko endure having another royal in Heero's apartment. It was definitely something to look forward to, and she delighted in rubbing Ayeka's face in the fact that she would soon have Heero all too herself.

Sasami looked down, seeming a bit let down. "Oh, that's right. That's too bad. I like snow."

"I can come back and visit!" said Mihoshi, "Earth's in the sector that I'm assigned to patrol, so I can always swing by here once in a while!"

"Yippee," Ryoko deadpanned.

Ayeka was clearly trying to keep up appearances, but Ryoko could tell that her words had struck a chord. The princess could act as proper and dutiful as she wanted, but while it might be her responsibility to return to Jurai Ryoko knew that Ayeka was having serious second thoughts about it, all thanks to their handsome host. This was why Ryoko was glad to be an outlaw; the only obligations she had were to herself and Ryo-Ohki.

"If you do visit," said Heero, clearly doing his best not sound too resigned, "at least try to call ahead first. Having some advance notice will make it easier to prepare for your arrival."

Mihoshi nodded. "Okay!"

The conversation died off for a little bit after that as they all focused on their food. As the meal started to wind down Ryoko began wondering what was next on the agenda; Heero hadn't really mentioned anything beyond the picnic.

Eventually they all finished up their food and Heero began gathering the trash. "Well, that was nice. I can get things cleaned up here if you all want to head back to the car."

"Already?" pouted Mihoshi, "But it's still so nice out!"

"It does seem like a shame to leave here when the weather's still so pleasant," said Ayeka.

Ryoko shrugged. "I'm fine either way."

"Oh, I know!" cried Sasami, "Let's play a game!"

"A game?" asked Heero as he threw the garbage in a nearby can, "What did you have in mind?"

Sasami smiled. "Hide and seek!"

"I don't know," said Ayeka, looking around the park, "This place is awfully big. If we do that here it might take a while."

Ryoko smiled. "Hey, why not? Sounds fun!"

"Meow!" cheered Ryo-Ohki.

"Yay!" said Mihoshi, "Wait, who's going to be the one that looks for people?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment, and then by some strange unspoken agreement all the women pointed right at Heero.

Clearly the young man could tell that there was no use fighting them on this. "All right. Just let me put all this back in the car and we can get started."

"Hurry up, Heero!" said Mihoshi.

 _Mmmm_ , thought Ryoko with a smirk, _Hide and seek with Heero? This should be entertaining…_

….

"Okay," said Heero, his arms folded, "before we get started, we need to lay out some ground rules."

The four women were gathered around him at the top of the hill where they'd had their lunch, with Ryo-Ohki once again perched atop Sasami's head. There was still plenty of daylight left, but Heero wanted to set some limitations now to at least _try_ to contain what he suspected would become a rather chaotic affair.

"First," he said, "You stay within the boundaries of the park. No going past that, all right?"

There was no argument with that rule, which was encouraging. However, Heero suspected that it was his following rules that might cause protest.

"Next," he said, "under no circumstances are you to use your powers. It's not too crowded today, but someone could still see you. I'd rather avoid the problems that could cause."

He was looking at Ryoko as he laid out that rule. She didn't say anything, but the smirk and the mischievous look in her eyes was enough to tell him exactly what she thought of that rule.

"Fear not, Sir Heero!" said Ayeka, "I promise that I shall not cause you any trouble!"

 _I trust you with that as long as you don't run into Ryoko and argue over a hiding place_ , he thought dryly, _If that happens, though, I would imagine that all bets are off._

"Also," he said, "no hiding in public restrooms. I know it's not too crowded today, but people do still need to use those."

"Who would hide in there anyway?" asked Ryoko, "They stink!"

"Sasami," said Heero, "This one's for you; keep Ryo-Ohki with you, okay? We don't need her to be wandering around."

Sasami nodded. "Okay."

"One more thing," said Heero, "No changing spots once the game's started. Otherwise we'll be here forever."

Ryoko pouted. "Oh, fine, ruin the fun, why don't you?"

Looking around, Heero spotted a nearby clock tower. It was ten minutes until the start of the next hour, which suited Heero's purpose nicely.

"All right," he said, "I'll sit down here and close my eyes. You all have until that clock tower strikes the next hour to find a hiding place. Once that happens I'll start my hunt. When I find you, come back to this hill. The game's over after I find everyone or if you hide so well that I give up… but don't count on that second part. I never give up the hunt."

"So do we go now?" asked Mihoshi.

Heero took a seat and closed his eyes. "What do you think?"

"Time to go!" said Ryoko.

He heard the others rapidly disperse. Even without his sight Heero was still quite perceptive, and he could hear the four women move for quite some time before they finally passed beyond his range. Heero had a pretty good idea as to the park's layout, so he used the downtime to mentally map out the most likely spots his companions would pick to hide at.

 _It might be an unfair advantage_ , he mused, _but given the size of this place it's one that I have no problem using._

Heero still wasn't entirely sure why he had agreed to this game in the first place. They'd finished the picnic; there was no real reason why they couldn't just head back to the apartment for the rest of the day. Still, that didn't change the fact that he'd gone along with the whims of his guests. If nothing else, the Preventers operative reflected that at least they were keeping life interesting for him.

In the distance he heard the chime of the clock tower and he opened his eyes. Standing up, he took a moment to survey the park before him. Deciding that right now there was no rush to find his guests, he headed towards one of the many walking paths that wound their way around the park. Ever since his four female companions had come into his life he'd had precious little time to himself; there was no reason why he couldn't enjoy a leisurely stroll while playing their game of hide-and-seek. Besides, the walkways would take him past most of the hiding spots he'd mentally mapped out earlier; with just a little bit of luck he'd likely find most of his guests before he really had to get serious in his hunt.

He debated asking some of the people on the trail if they had seen any of his companions; he hadn't specified a rule against intelligence gathering, after all. Ultimately he decided against it; he didn't want to make things too easy.

 _Mihoshi strikes me as the least suited to stealth of any kind_ , he mused, _I suppose I'll start with her._

He was approaching a sand pit with a playground and figured he'd stop there and have a look around. The plastic and steel structure was actually quite large, consisting of a maze of monkey bars, tunnels, ladders, sliding poles, and slides. Heero idly wandered around the structure, checking in various nooks and crannies for his prey. The fact that most kids who would normally be using this were in school right now made it significantly easier for him to conduct his search.

It didn't take Heero long to find foot prints in the sand that were not his. He could tell right away that they were from female footwear and figured he had a descent shot of finding at least one of his guests here. Moving carefully to avoid making any sounds, he almost reflexively put his infiltration skills into practice, keeping in cover and searching every nook and cranny to ferret out his prey. A few seconds later he found a strand of long blonde hair that had gotten snagged on a screw holding a metal bar to a plastic platform.

 _Definitely Mihoshi_ , he thought, _She's either in here or passed through here on her way to another spot. Let's narrow that down._

Exiting the structure and moving to the edge of the sand pit, he walked around the perimeter until he had his confirmation. The footprints he'd seen earlier were only leading into the structure; there were none aside from his own that were leading out. Mihoshi was definitely in there.

Heading back into the playground, Heero retraced his earlier steps until he came to the spot where he'd spotted the strand of blonde hair. A plastic tube was nearby, and he crawled inside. After about a minute of crawling around through the network he rounded a corner and felt his head hit something supple yet firm. An accompanying cry of surprise told Heero what he already knew; he'd bumped headfirst into Mihoshi's rear.

"Eeep!" squeaked Mihoshi as she jolted, which resulted in her head hitting the tube's ceiling, "Ow!"

"Sorry," said Heero, trying to look anywhere but her ass, "Are you okay, Mihoshi?"

Mihoshi turned around and smiled. "Oh, Heero! I'm fine, you just startled me. I can't believe you found me so quickly! Was I the first one?"

Heero nodded. "Yes, although I'm impressed that you worked your way so far back in here."

"Oh, I crawl around tight spaces all the time," she said, "It comes with being a Detective First Class!"

"I see," said Heero, "I'm sure that's a skill that comes in handy."

Mihoshi nodded. "Yup! So do I get to help you find the others now?"

Heero shook his head. 'That's not how this game works, remember? When I find you you're supposed to go wait on that hill we had our picnic at."

"Aw, but that's boring!" she pouted, "I want to look for the others with you! Come on, Heero, please?"

Heero had to steel himself as he met her puppy-dog gaze. He didn't know the look on her face was intentional or simply reflex at this point, but he could certainly see how it might sway a lesser man.

"No," he said firmly, "That's against what I said before we started the game. Go back to the hill, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi sighed. "Oh, all right."

The two of the climbed out of the network of tubes. When they got to the edge of the playground they dusted themselves off before Mihoshi gave Heero one last pleading look.

"Are you sure I can't help?" she asked.

Heero sighed. "I'm sure, Mihoshi. Sorry. If we play this game again I'll let you start as the one that looks for people. How's that sound?"

Mihoshi smiled. "I like that! Good luck, Heero!"

As Mihoshi ran off Heero returned to the trail and continued on his way. Just as he'd anticipated, he'd gotten the easiest target out of the way. Now things would likely get a bit trickier.

After a few minutes of walking he found himself approaching a collection of picnic tables. There was a crowd of about thirty or so adults gathered around, and based on the food they had out on the tables along with the suits they were wearing it appeared to be an employee party of some kind. A small sign set up on one of the tables confirmed it; apparently they were celebrating the five year anniversary of their company's startup.

 _Looks like an investment group_ , he mused, _Makes sense; Brussels is a global financial hub, after all._

Among the various foods on the table was a cake, and although it had decorative writing on it the small orange frosting decorations in the corners gave it away as carrot cake. Heero immediately started looking around the surrounding area. It might not have been regular carrots, but he had a feeling that if Ryo-Ohki caught a glimpse of those small orange frosting carrots she'd come running, and wherever she was Sasami would not be far off.

Heero moved off to the side and sat on a nearby bench to observe the area around the party. It was in an open field, but off to both sides were bushes and trees; excellent hiding places. The Preventers operative studied them carefully, his eyes narrowed as he scanned for any sign of movement.

Five minutes went by, then ten. Heero was about to get up and move on when out of the corner of his eye he saw a bush shake. It only lasted for a second, and Heero was about to shrug it off and continue on his way when he saw it shake again… and again. At first it was just in a few second-bursts, but then it became more sustained, like there was some sort of tussle going on just behind the leaves.

 _Is that them?_ , he thought, _Or just a few squirrels fighting over a nut?_

He was about to get up and walk over there when his question was answered in spectacular fashion; Ryo-Ohki shot through the leaves like a bat out of hell and made a beeline straight for the tables, yowling for joy the whole way. The cat-rabbit moved so fast she looked like little more than a dark grey blur as she bolted across the grass like a cannon ball.

A second later Sasami came stumbling out of the bushes. "Oh no! Ryo-Ohki, stop right now!"

 _Too late for that_ , Heero thought, slightly amused by the spectacle.

A few members of the crowd spotted the approaching furball and gave appropriate cries of surprise, but it was far too late for them to do anything about. In the blink of an eye Ryo-Ohki had crossed the field, hopped up onto the table, and plowed headfirst into the carrot cake.

"I'm so sorry!" cried Sasami as she ran up to the table.

The group of employees quickly gathered around the table, obscuring Heero's view. Standing up and heading over, the Gundam pilot carefully worked his way through the crowd until he reached the center. There was Ryo-Ohki, covered in frosting, cake crumbs stuck in her fur and whiskers, looking quite pleased with herself.

"Meow!" she cried happily as she swallowed piece of cake.

"Ryo-Ohki!" Sasami scolded, pointing at the cat-rabbit, "Bad girl! You ruined their cake!"

Heero looked around the crowd, expecting trouble, but much to his surprise there wasn't a trace of hostility towards Ryo-Ohki or Sasami. In fact, everyone had gotten their smart phones out and were busy taking pictures.

"Aw, look at her!" said a woman in a high class pants-suit, "She's so cute!"

"What kind of creature is that?" asked a gentleman.

"Where can I get an adorable little furball like that?" asked another woman, "My daughter would absolutely love her!"

Sasami grabbed a napkin and picked up Ryo-Ohki to start wiping her off. "I'm sorry about this. I tried to hold her back, but she really likes carrots."

"It's okay," said one of the men present, "What is she?"

"Well…" said Sasami, clearly at a loss as to what she should do next.

Heero decided it was time to step in. "There you are, Sasami. I've been looking for you."

Sasami jumped as she saw him before blushing in embarrassment. "Heero! I… I'm sorry! I know you told me to keep an eye on Ryo-Ohki, but when she saw that cake I couldn't control her!"

Heero shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's all right, Sasami. Don't worry about it."

Sasami smiled. "Aw, thanks, Heero."

"Come on," he said, giving her a gentle nudge, "We need to get going."

Sasami nodded. "Okay. Sorry for the mess, everyone!"

"You can't stay?" asked one of the women present, "That precious little furball has to leave so soon?"

"I'm afraid so," said Heero, "I'm sorry for the trouble, and I appreciate you all being so understanding with my little sister."

"She's your sister?" asked one of the men, "You two look nothing alike."

"She takes after our mother," Heero replied hastily as he guided Sasami out of the crowd, "Enjoy the rest of your party."

Eventually they got clear and Sasami turned to Heero and smiled. "So I'm your little sister now, huh?"

Heero sighed. "You know that I couldn't tell them the truth. I had to deceive them and get you and Ryo-Ohki out of there."

"I know," said Sasami, "So… does this count as you finding me, then?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah."

"That's not fair!" Sasami pouted, "You know I could've stayed hidden if it weren't for Ryo-Ohki."

Heero shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You still broke cover, and I found you. Better luck next time, Sasami."

Sasami nodded and looked down at Ryo-Ohki, rubbing the cat-rabbit's head with her fist. "You made us lose, Ryo-Ohki! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Shame was clearly the last thing Ryo-Ohki was feeling right now. The furball appeared to be quite content with herself.

"Meow," she said slowly in what Heero assumed to be a signal of satisfaction.

Sasami shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"You can ask Ryoko after I find her," said Heero, "Although I doubt she'll be much help. She doesn't strike me as the type to really discipline her pet… or to have much discipline at all for that matter."

Sasami nodded. "I guess you're right. So, what now?"

"You know the rules," said Heero, "Mihoshi's already at the hill, so go join her there. Once I've found Ayeka and Ryoko we'll head back to the apartment."

Sasami smiled. "Okay. I hope you find them soon!"

 _So do I_ , thought Heero as he watched the princess run off with Ryo-Ohki in her arms, _That incident with the cake is the only one I'd like to deal with today._

Getting back to the game, Heero really wasn't sure what to do next. He'd eliminated the easiest targets pretty quickly. Ayeka struck him as smart enough to make a good effort at concealment, and with Ryoko's criminal background there wasn't a doubt in his mind that the space pirate would be the hardest one to track down.

 _I'm sure Ryoko can be quite stealthy when she wants to be_ , he mused, _Plus her powers of flight and phasing through solid objects. I know one of the rules I laid out forbid the use of powers, but I doubt she's adhering to that one. This could get tricky._

Ultimately he decided that the best move was to continue on with his current strategy, so he returned to the pathway he'd been on before the cake incident and started walking again. He guessed that Ayeka would be a bit easier to find than Ryoko simply due to the former being much more rule bound than the latter, so he tried to think of places that she might be found in. He could rule out anything too dirty or smelly just by virtue of her personality, but that still left quite a few possibilities open.

The path led towards a wooded area, and Heero decided that was as good a place as any to really delve into his search. He slowed his pace as he walked among the trees and bushes, carefully looking around for any sign that Ayeka or Ryoko might've passed through this area.

 _This might take a while_ , he thought, _This isn't the only wooded area in this park, and there are plenty of other places a smart woman could hide._

He was getting close to the end of this current patch of trees when he heard a rustling come from to the right. It also sounded like it was slightly above ground level. Investigating, Heero quickly discovered Ayeka clinging desperately to a tree branch that was quite clearly straining under her weight.

"Oh dear," she said to herself, "Please don't break, please don't break…"

"Need a little help?" asked Heero.

Ayeka jolted at the sound of his voice and quickly turned to face him, her face flushing with embarrassment at her predicament. "Oh, Sir Heero! I… I suppose I could… oh, how could I let this happen?"

"Just hang on," said Heero as he worked his way through the underbrush to get to her, "I'm coming."

Suddenly there was a very distinctive crack, and the branch lurched violently. "Oh no! Sir Heero, help!"

Heero rushed over, but the branch broke just as he was arriving, meaning that he certainly was not ready to catch Ayeka. She fell right on top of them, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Knocked onto his stomach, Heero turned to see Ayeka lying on his back, dusting herself off. "Well, that wasn't so bad… oh, goodness! Sir Heero!"

She blushed furiously as she saw exactly where she had landed, and she got off him before kneeling beside him to help him to his feet. "Sir Heero, I am so sorry about that!"

Heero shook his head as he accepted her aid and regained his feet. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

Ayeka nodded. "Oh, yes! Thank you very much for your timely assistance, Sir Heero!"

"I don't think I really did much," Heero replied, "Other than break your fall, anyway."

Ayeka smiled. "Regardless, I still appreciate it. Are you sure you're all right?"

Heero nodded. "I am, but thank you for your concern."

Ayeka sighed with relief. "That's good to hear. I would hate for you to be injured on my account! So, I suppose this means I've been eliminated from the game now, correct? Please tell me that I was the last one you found!"

Heero shook his head. "Sorry, but I've still got to track down Ryoko."

"Oh," said Ayeka, looking disappointed, "I see. I know you told us to return to the hill when you found us, but are you sure I cannot offer assistance?"

"Maybe I'll change the rules next time," said Heero, "but for now we're still playing the way I laid out earlier."

Ayeka nodded. "Very well, Sir Heero. In that case, good hunting!"

"Thanks," said Heero, "Hopefully it won't take too long."

He watched the princess trot off, nodding as she gave him a wave and a smile. She could be a bit stiff and quick tempered at times, but Heero also recognized her as a genuinely good woman. He was very appreciative of her courtesy and concern, even if it could get a tad overbearing at times. Ayeka's willingness to cooperate with him and go along with his orders without much fuss was also something Heero was grateful for… and she was pretty easy on the eyes, too.

 _Focus_ , he thought as he turned back to his hunt, _You've still got one more woman to find, and she's by far the cagiest and most devious of the lot._

Exiting the trees and underbrush, Heero continued along the path. The walkway lead through another clearing, but up ahead Heero could see another wooded area and figured that would be as good a place as any to start looking for Ryoko. He would have to be much more thorough than he had been for the others, and sneaky; for all he knew Ryoko would switch spots the moment she spotted him despite his rule to stay in one location once he started his search.

Before entering the wooded area ahead he took a moment to survey what he could of the open part of the park. In the distance he could see the others on top of the little hill, and much to his relief it didn't seem like they were going anywhere anytime soon. He couldn't see any sign of Ryoko amid the open fields, but he'd expected that.

 _Okay_ , he thought as he looked at the wooded area in front of him, _Here we go._

As soon as he passed into the shadows beneath the tree canopy he immediately went off the trail to the right and crouched behind some bushes. Heero took a moment to scan the area around him, both ground level and the tree branches above him, but with so many trees and bushes around his field of vision was limited. It would be slow going here, especially since he lacked the gear he would normally use in a hunt like this on a mission.

 _Consider it off the clock training_ , he thought, _There are worse ways to pass the time._

Staying low and keeping in cover, he started to methodically work his way through the underbrush, looking high and low for Ryoko. With her powers the places she could've chosen to hide were nearly limitless, and that was if he was lucky and she'd at least decided to stick to one spot once the game began. If she'd taken the nomadic approach then this could end up being a very long search.

Normally in a situation like this he would focus on looking for signs such as footprints or brush that looked freshly bent or had a few twigs broken off; conventional indicators of prey that had passed through in a hurry. However, with Ryoko's abilities to fly and phase through matter Heero knew that conventional methods for tracking would likely not be as effective here, so he would have to figure out another approach.

 _Broken tree branches, maybe?_ , he thought, his mind flashing back to how he'd found Ayeka, _She could've experimented with a few perches only to find that the branches wouldn't support her weight._

He scanned the ground as he moved along, and while he did notice some broken branches they appeared to have fallen some time ago. After a few minutes of searching like this Heero shook his head; this wasn't the method that would help him catch the space pirate. Still, he felt that the trees themselves were the best places for someone like her to hide out.

"No choice," he muttered.

Finding a particularly sturdy-looking tree, Heero found a handhold and started to climb. It was slow going as he tested the individual branches to see which ones would support his weight, but he'd had to climb trees a few times on missions in the past so it was something he had experience in. A few minutes he latter he got about as high as he could get; the branches past where he was at now were simply too small to support him.

Unfortunately he didn't have as great a vantage point as he had hoped for. He was at a decent height, but the tree cover was pretty thick apart from the gap created by the path, and he couldn't see as far as he would've liked.

 _No good_ , he thought as he looked around, _She's not in range. I could head a ways up the path and try another one, but I doubt I'll get better results there. It'd be impractical to keep climbing up trees until I find her anyway. Looks like this is going to be a ground game._

He cautiously climbed back down. Once he reached the ground he started to make his way through the underbrush again, pausing every so often to look up into the tree branches above. He briefly considered doubling back to the section of trees that he'd found Ayeka in before tossing the idea aside; if those two had been in the same area he doubted that they would've been able to refrain from fighting, and that would've given them both away quite some time ago. No, it was best to keep moving forward.

A soft rippling noise coming from behind him caused Heero to quickly turn around. There was no one there, but that sound was unmistakable.

"Somehow I knew you wouldn't play by the rules," he said.

There was no answer, but the silence meant nothing to Heero. Ryoko was somewhere nearby, and apparently she had decided to have some fun with him.

 _Fine by me_ , he thought as he crouched behind a bush, _Two can play the stealth game._

Moving carefully to avoid making any unnecessary noise, the Preventers agent crept through the underbrush, his eyes and ears open for the faintest hint of Ryoko's presence. Occasionally he would here the rippling noise again, but Heero refrained from running over to the source; that would only play into Ryoko's hand.

He heard that rippling sound again, this time much closer. Heero felt a breeze at his back, and he immediately ducked. It wasn't a moment too soon; he saw Ryoko fly right over him, giving him a mischievous smirk before phasing right through a nearby tree.

"Well," he said, "I found you, although something tells me you're not going to let that be the end of it."

He heard Ryoko laugh, but as he looked around he couldn't find her. "Where's the fun in that? I think it'd be more interesting to make you work for it!"

"This is hide-and-seek," said Heero as he tried to locate her, "not tag."

"Maybe the others saw it that way," said Ryoko, "but I'm not like them. You should really know that by now, Heero!"

"Fine," said Heero as he ducked behind a tree, "I'll just have to improvise."

"Now that's more like it!" said Ryoko, "Come on, hotshot! Show me what you've got!"

How to do that was much easier said than done. Ryoko had the edge in maneuverability by far, and the fact that she could phase through solid objects meant that Heero was at a severe handicap when it came to catching her. He couldn't think of a way to take the initiative here; Heero was on defense now.

 _Why does it feel like I've gone from hunter to hunted?_ , he thought, _Well, looks like I've got no choice but to find a way to deal with it._

If there was a bright side to this new development it was that he didn't have to worry about scouring the whole park for Ryoko now. She seemed like she wanted to play in this wooded area, and since that would help conceal her powers from any witnesses Heero was willing to indulge her.

Stealth was still important here, but since Ryoko was now on the move Heero knew that he would have to be more flexible going forward. If she decided to ambush him he'd have a split-second to react; he'd have to be ready for anything.

He moved cautiously from tree to tree, doing everything he could to minimize his exposure. Every few seconds or so he heard the soft rippling sound of Ryoko phasing through something, and it seemed to be growing gradually closer. Heero braced himself as he pulled away from the tree, deliberately putting himself in the open; he'd only get one shot at this.

After a few tense moments he heard the sound of Ryoko phasing again, and he saw the tree bark ripple in front of him. As soon as Ryoko's head popped out of it Heero lunged forward to grab her, but she was too quick for him; she backed right up and vanished into the tree bark while Heero ran straight into the tree.

"Damn it!" he hissed, rubbing his head.

Checking himself, he realized that he had a small cut on his forehead and a few more scrapes on his arms. It wasn't anything serious, fortunately, but it still took Heero by surprise; he hadn't expected to end up bleeding today, regardless if it was just a trickle and not a major wound.

"Wow!" he heard Ryoko say, "I'm impressed, Heero! You almost had me there!"

Heero didn't respond, instead ducking behind another tree. He doubted the same trick would work again; he'd have to think of something else. Unfortunately he wasn't sure where to start; Ryoko's powers made her hard to anticipate.

 _Stay flexible_ , he thought, _and remain light on your feet. She'll slip up and give you an opening eventually. Just be patient and wear her out._

Could that even work, though? Heero didn't really know the limits to Ryoko's strength and endurance. For all he knew she could quite easily outlast him. Still, she had an impatient nature, which Heero thought he might be able to use against her.

There was some rustling in the branches above. Looking up, Heero saw Ryoko zip by overhead, smiling all the while. She darted through the canopy as agile as a bird, completely in her element and enjoying every second of it.

She paused and gave him a smirk. "Come on, Heero! You going to chase me or not?"

"I don't seem to have much of a choice in the matter," Heero mumbled as he tried to close the gap.

"You can always give up," she teased as she floated along, staying just out of reach.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he ran after her. "That's not going to happen."

"Good!" said Ryoko, "I knew you weren't the quitting type! You'd be no fun otherwise."

Heero wasn't about to surrender, but he knew chasing her like this was pointless. He could keep up his pace for quite awhile, but even someone as fit and trained as him had their limits. His best shot would be to find a way to get ahead of her and ambush her, but given her advantage in speed and maneuverability Heero just could not find a way to make that happen.

Heero ran after her for a few minutes, zigzagging through the trees, before Ryoko suddenly veered to the right and vanished into a tree. The Gundam pilot ran around it, but to his surprise he could not find her on the other side.

"Damn it," he hissed as he looked around, "Where did she go now?"

Backing up against the tree, he carefully scanned the area. It was really a reflexive stance; Ryoko's phasing abilities meant that putting his back to a solid object really wasn't an effective means of eliminating a blind spot.

Suddenly Ryoko dropped down from above and pinned Heero against the tree trunk. "Hah! Gotcha!"

Before Heero could react she pulled him into a hug and shoved his head right into her cleavage. "See, now wasn't that fun, Heero? Much better than just plain old hide and seek, right?"

 _I'll be the judge of that_ , he thought as he freed himself from her grip, rather flustered at finding his face pushed right into her bosom.

"Are you done?" he asked as he tried to regain a bit of personal space, only for her to press up against him and keep him pinned to the tree.

"Why would I be?" she said with a teasing wink, "We're all alone now, Heero. We should take advantage of this!"

As lovely as she was, the Preventers operative knew that taking her up on that offer was just asking for trouble. "I think I'll pass."

Ryoko was not a woman that was easily dissuaded though, and before Heero could stop her she'd grabbed him beneath his arms and started to float upward. "Oh, no! You're not getting away from me that easily, Heero!"

"Ryoko, that's enough," he said firmly as they slowly gained altitude, "Put us both back down on the ground."

Ryoko shook her head and smiled. "Not yet. There's something I want to show you first!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Heero.

"Oh, you'll see!" she replied cheerfully.

Fighting her now might risk a serious injury for him if Ryoko lost her grip, so Heero really had no choice but to hang tight and hope for the best. Heero could take some consolation in the fact that they were still in the wooded area and the trees were rather thick here, limiting the risk for exposure.

Eventually Ryoko set down on a branch. Still holding into him, she nodded at the horizon.

"What do you think?" she said, "I found this spot while I was waiting for you to start looking for us. Quite the view, huh?"

Following her gaze, Heero found himself very much in agreement with Ryoko. From this perch he had an excellent view of the Brussels skyline. It was getting late in the afternoon but the sun was still high in the sky, and the windows of the skyscrapers gleamed in the light. Preventers HQ was visible in the distance, but it seemed so small when compared to the towers of the Brussels downtown and financial districts. It was the capital city in a way that Heero had never seen it before, given new glory from his unlikely perch.

Raising one hand but keeping the other firmly on him, Ryoko brought her fingers to the small cut on Heero's forehead. "Oh, damn, did I do that?"

"Indirectly," said Heero, "The tree did most of it."

"Shit," she said, looking surprisingly distressed, "I'm sorry, Heero."

Heero shook his head. "I've had worse. Don't worry about it. Besides, a view like this is worth a scrape or two."

Ryoko smiled. "Glad you think so."

"If you wanted to bring me up here that badly," said Heero, "You could've just told me."

"Maybe," said Ryoko, "but I'm a rough-and-tumble kind of girl. You should know that by now."

Heero nodded. "True enough."

Ryoko looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "Still… I'm really sorry about that, Heero. Look, I know I can cause trouble sometimes. I promise I'm not doing it to be cruel or to make your life hell. I want to have fun… but I don't want to make you miserable in the process. I really am grateful for all that you've done for me. You know that, right?"

"I do," Heero replied, "and it's all right. It's true that you can be a handful at times. However… you've also made life pretty interesting since you started living with me. I wasn't sure what to think when all this started, but… I'm actually glad that you and the others are staying with me."

Ryoko smiled. "You really mean that? You're not just trying to be nice to me?"

"I say what I mean, Ryoko," said Heero, "Having you and the others around… it's been entertaining."

Ryoko smirked. "Well, I'd like to think so. By the way, just because Sasami's taking Ayeka and Mihoshi home soon doesn't mean that you're getting rid of me quite so easily. I like it here, so I'm planning on sticking around for a while, and I'd _really_ like for it to be with you. What do you say?"

Heero actually found himself giving her a small smile. "Well, I could definitely do worse for roommates. As long as you don't cause _too_ much trouble…"

Ryoko laughed. "Well, no promises."

"I suppose I'll have to take what I can get," Heero replied, "Now, how about getting us down from here? The others are waiting for us."

"Can't they wait just a little longer?" said Ryoko, leaning in closer, "Come on, Heero, check out this view! How often do you get to enjoy something like this?"

He had to admit that Ryoko had a point. This view of Brussels really was something else. All things considered, he supposed that their game had wrapped up pretty fast. What was the harm in sticking around just a little while longer to take in a vista like this?

Heero nodded. "All right. Just for a little while."

Before he could react Ryoko gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're the best, you know that?"

Heero shook his head, wondering why he suddenly felt a bit warmer than usual. "Hardly."

 _Not by a long shot_ , he thought, _You told me about your past, but I've only given you a glimpse of mine. If you knew what I've really done you wouldn't be so eager to get close to me._

Now wasn't the time for that, though. Heero wasn't about to dampen the mood. Ryoko wanted to spend a few minutes up here with him enjoying the sights, and he was just fine with that.

….

"Oh, man," said Ryoko as she and Heero headed along the walkway back towards the hill, "That was fun!"

They'd stayed up in the tree for what was probably just about ten minutes, and it had gone by all too quickly as far as Ryoko was concerned. Getting some quality alone time with Heero was pretty hard to do considering all the competition she had. She'd wanted to take things further, but she'd refrained out of respect for Heero; she didn't want to push him _too_ far out of his comfort zone.

She smiled as she saw Heero nod. "It was interesting. I'm sure you'll understand though if I hold off on a second round for a while."

"Aw, come on, Heero!" said Ryoko, giving him a light punch on the shoulder, "I know you enjoyed it! Besides, it's not like you have to be 'it' the next time we play. I wouldn't mind a chance at hunting you down!"

"I'm sure," said Heero dryly, "but you shouldn't be so confident. I can hide pretty well when I put my mind to it."

Ryoko grinned. "That sounds like a challenge! Well, I'm game. Just name the time and place, Heero!"

Her handsome host shook his head. "Not right now. I'm ready to head back for the evening, and I'm sure the others are too."

"I know," said Ryoko, "We'll play it by ear."

Heero nodded. "Sounds good."

Looking ahead, she saw the hill where Ayeka and the others were at steadily growing closer. All too soon she and Heero would be back with the group, but Ryoko could deal with it. She'd made the most of her little bit of alone time with Heero, and she was fine with that.

 _I just wish he hadn't gotten hurt_ , she thought as she looked at the scrapes on his arm and the small cut on his forehead, _I know they're minor injuries and all, but still… I want to have fun with him, not make him bleed._

The fact that he had forgiven her for it relatively easily simply reinforced what Ryoko already knew about Heero; he was a pretty cool guy. Sure, he could be quiet and stiff, and there was a ton about him that Ryoko didn't know, but she was okay with that. Heero could loosen up on occasion, and Ryoko was willing to take her time in learning more about him. It wasn't like her to embrace a more thorough and prolonged approach, but for a guy like Heero she could definitely make an exception.

"Hey, you found her, Heero!" said Mihoshi as they approached.

"Good job, Heero!" said Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Ayeka nodded. "Well done, Sir Heero. I knew that she could not elude someone as astute as you. Victory is yours!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Ryoko with a smirk as she and Heero joined the others, "I didn't see you doing any better, Ayeka."

Ayeka folded her arms. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well," said Ryoko, "correct me if I'm wrong, but he did find you before me, right?"

Ayeka huffed. "So what if he did? The conditions were that he would find all of us, or that he would give up and those who remained hidden would win. I knew Sir Heero would never concede defeat; his victory was assured! Even someone like myself would have a hard time hiding from someone as observant as him."

"Keep flattering yourself, Ayeka," said Ryoko, "You're not nearly as sneaky as I am. I think today's game proved that."

"That's because I have no need to skulk about in the shadows," said Ayeka with a proud smirk, "As a Juraian princess I move about in the open. I have no need to hide from my enemies! The power of the royal bloodline and that of the Empire assure my victory over any foe that challenges me in the open!"

"Then how come we fought to a draw up in orbit?" said Ryoko, "You crashed down here with me, so I wouldn't exactly call that a win for you."

Ayeka folded her arms. "Well, a short-sighted pirate like you _would_ see it that way. Fortunately my patience was rewarded by Sasami's arrival. Soon I will be off this planet while _you_ remain here."

"By choice," Ryoko reminded her, "Ryo-Ohki's fully healed and can fly whenever she wants. I just happen to want to stay here a while longer. So go ahead and head back to the Empire, princess; I've got what I want right here."

She put her arm around Heero to emphasize her point. The growing red in Ayeka's face was totally worth it even as Heero quickly shrugged her off.

"That's enough, you two," he said, "Come on, let's head home. I think we've all had enough excitement for one day."

Ayeka eagerly nodded, although not before giving Ryoko a fierce glare. "Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. Let us return to your residence, Sir Heero!"

"Yay!" said Mihoshi, "By the time we get back it will be time for dinner!"

"Oh!" said Sasami, her eyes bright with delight, "Heero, do you mind if I cook dinner?"

Heero nodded. "Sure, go for it. If you want me to help, just ask."

"Okay!" the younger princess replied.

As they all headed towards the car Ryoko found herself smiling at her handsome host again. A game of hide-and-seek in a city park wasn't what she normally went for, but he'd definitely made it worthwhile. It was a nice change of pace for a career outlaw, and just one of many new experiences she'd had since Heero had entered her life.

 _Oh, yeah_ , she thought, _There's no way in hell that I'm leaving this planet anytime soon. You'd better brace yourself, Heero. Once Ayeka and the others have left I'll have you all to myself, and I'm_ definitely _going to make the most of that!_

….

 **September 29** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Wiping a bit of sauce from her lips, Ayeka looked over at Heero and smiled. "That was a lovely dinner, Sir Heero. Thank you very much!"

Heero nodded as he stood up and began collecting plates. "You're welcome."

"Hey!" Sasami pouted, "I helped too, Ayeka!"

Ayeka nodded and patted her little sister on the head. "Oh, you certainly did, Sasami! You did a splendid job, and you have my gratitude as well!"

Sasami beamed at Ayeka. "Aw, thanks, big sister!"

 _Her skills certainly have grown since her arrival here_ , she thought as she watched Sasami assist Heero with the cleanup, _Sir Heero may be a soldier, but he's done a marvelous job in improving Sasami's culinary techniques._

Heero and Sasami had really gone all out for the occasion. After all, it was the night before the scheduled departure of Ayeka, Sasami, and Mihoshi, so a farewell party had been in order. Her host and her younger sister had cooked up a wonderful spread of chicken, garlic bread, salad, and a bunch of strange cheesy noodles that Heero had called 'macaroni'. It was the first time he'd presented her with that last kind of food, and while at first it had seemed quite alien to the crown princess of Jurai it had quickly grown on her as she took a few bites. As vast as the Empire of Jurai was, and with the finest chefs in the galaxy at her beck and call back at the palace, Ayeka had to admit that she would greatly miss the meals that Heero had prepared for her over the course of her stay. Sasami had learned much from him, and knowing her Ayeka was sure that her younger sister would try to replicate some of the dishes they'd had here, but despite her newfound skills the crown princess felt that it just would not be the same without Heero's touch.

Heero's meals would be just one of many things about this distant world called Earth that Ayeka would miss upon her return to the Empire. This impromptu extended vacation of hers had been a very liberating experience. It was actually rather amusing for her to realize that it had taken getting into a crash on a backwater planet and being taken into custody by a local peacekeeper to get her to truly relax for once in her life. The responsibilities and worries that came with being heir to the throne of Jurai had seemed so very far away, and while she would never admit it to the likes of Ryoko Ayeka knew that she certainly wouldn't mind this little holiday of hers lasting a while longer.

 _If only I could've been born a commoner_ , she thought wistfully, _Sure, it might take some getting used to, but I'm sure I'd find some way to manage. I could enjoy the same freedom that those not born of noble blood have. Ceremony and duty, pomp and circumstance… I'd have none of that in my life, and I think I'd be quite happy with that. I could live my own life…_

 _…and follow my heart._

It was with that last sentiment that her gaze once again fell on Heero. Ayeka's return to the Empire would also mean a return to the obligation that had prompted her original vacation in the first place; the inevitable meetings with suitors until a proper match was made and the ceremony took place. While she believed that some young men among the imperial nobility might make a suitable fiancé, the notion of marrying one of out of formality and duty hadn't exerted the strongest pull on Ayeka. She could never publicly admit it, but the crown princess was actually something of a closet romantic. She loved the ballads and tales of star crossed lovers and romances that transcended the bounds of class and wealth and overcame the mighty hurdles of politics and war. Ayeka could never have something like that if she went through with an arranged marriage…

…but she could with someone like Heero.

 _No_ , she thought, shaking her head and praying that no one was paying attention to her, _What the devil has gotten into me? I couldn't possibly feel_ that way _towards Sir Heero…_

 _…could I?_

It was hard to say. Ayeka was certainly grateful towards her host, and would not deny a certain fondness for him, along with an intense curiosity. Perhaps Heero was a bit rough around the edges, but he was far more of a gentleman than many of the nobles Ayeka had met in the imperial court. His current role as a combination of a soldier and a peacekeeper was both impressive and intriguing, especially since it was actually something very different than what was found in the Empire. Ayeka still didn't have a very good idea of what Heero's typical missions were like, but from what little she knew she believed he was a mix of warrior, intelligence agent, and law enforcement officer. The closest equivalent she could find in her own culture were the powerful Knights of Jurai, and that was part of why Ayeka insisted on referring to Heero with the honorific of Sir, but even then there was something about him that set him apart from those familiar figures in the Empire, even if she could not quite figure out what that was.

She believed that Heero was a noble individual, but there was a certain grittiness about him that was impossible to deny. He was a man who had principles, but Ayeka had a feeling that when the situation called for it he could be grimly pragmatic. Like the agents of the Jurai Imperial Intelligence Bureau, Ayeka surmised that much of Heero's real work was done in the shadows. It would certainly help explain why at times there seemed to be a hint of darkness to his aura, as though he had knowledge of and performed deeds that the public had no inkling of. That was more than a little unsettling to Ayeka, much like the revelation of his past as an insurrectionist had been, but it did not take away from the faith she had in him.

 _Regardless of what I do not know about him_ , she thought, _I cannot deny that I trust Sir Heero with my life. He's such a mystery, and yet I can say with complete certainty that he would never pose a threat to me or allow any harm to come to me. Outside of my immediate family, how many people can I say have those qualities in the imperial court? Alas, it's not a very high number…_

Looking around, she saw that while Heero and Sasami were cleaning up Ryoko and Mihoshi appeared to be fighting over the television remote. While entertainment programming certainly wasn't alien to the Empire of Jurai, Ayeka liked the local flavor of the shows she'd seen during her time on Earth. Ryoko and Mihoshi shared her sentiments, albeit for different aspects of it; while Ayeka was drawn both to drama and to the main news network as a means to learn more about Earth culture, Ryoko and Mihoshi were suckers for action and comedy programming. They each had developed their own favorite shows in their short time here, and when the schedules of said shows conflicted it was best to stay out of the way while the two of them wrestled for control of the remote. It was tempting to get in on the fight, but Ayeka resisted the urge. She had much better things to do tonight than get into a scuffle with those two.

Glancing back towards the kitchen, she watched Heero and Sasami continue to clean the dishes. What Ayeka wanted more than anything else at that moment was to have some alone time with him, but in an apartment that was so crowded that seemed practically impossible.

 _No_ , she thought with determination, _I cannot give up so easily! There_ is _a chance!_

Usually while the others were distracted by the television Heero would quietly slip out the sliding door onto the apartment's balcony. Ayeka knew it was so he could have just a few quiet moments to himself, and most of the time she was more than willing to give him his space. After all he had done for her Ayeka knew that it was the very least she could do to return the favor.

However, if that opening presented itself tonight Ayeka knew that she would have no choice but to take it. All she could do from there was hope that Heero would forgive her intrusion upon his desire for solitude. The young man had proven himself willing to be lenient with how she'd quite literally shot him down back when they'd first met, so Ayeka was relatively confident that he would not hold her planned transgression against her.

 _Patience_ , she silently told herself, _Your time will come. Keep your eyes open, and seize the moment when it presents itself._

Meanwhile, Ryoko appeared to have won the duel for the remote. She immediately flipped it over to a channel she clearly liked before kicking back and relaxing as an action-drama spy show took over the television. It was one that Ayeka actually found to be mildly interesting, although she would never say as much to her bitter rival.

Sasami came into the room, prompting some concern from Ayeka. Her sister was a bright girl, but Ayeka was unsure if she was mature enough to properly handle the material Ryoko consumed for entertainment. Ayeka held her tongue as Sasami sat down on the couch and Ryo-Ohki settled into her lap. She would talk to her sister later if need be; right now her focus was on Heero, and if her sister was here that meant her host was alone in the kitchen. It was a little earlier than she'd planned, but Ayeka didn't know if she'd get a better shot.

Quietly standing up, she headed towards the kitchen. Glancing back at the others, she was relieved to see that they were quite absorbed in the show on the screen. Ayeka couldn't ask for a better diversion.

Entering cautiously, she found him over by the sink. He appeared to be just about done with cleaning things up for the night, so Ayeka felt confident in approaching him.

"Sir Heero?" she said, "Do you require any assistance?"

The young man looked over at her and shook his head. "It's okay. I'll be finished in a minute."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. I hope Sasami wasn't too much trouble earlier."

"Not at all," he replied, "She's quite helpful. She does very well in the kitchen. I have to admit I'm still a bit surprised by it. I would've thought she'd rely on cooks, given the background the two of you share. No offense."

Ayeka quickly shook her head and smiled to reassure him. "Oh, none taken! I must admit I don't quite understand her culinary leanings myself, but seeing as she enjoys them I don't see the harm in indulging her. Thank you very much for being so patient with her."

Heero nodded as he finished wiping a plate off. "You're welcome. You've got a very bright young sister, Ayeka. You must be proud of her."

"Oh, quite so!" said Ayeka, blushing slightly, "I couldn't ask for a better sister."

"It must be nice," said Heero, "Having a younger sibling, I mean."

Ayeka nodded, a little curious as to where this was going. "It is, yes."

Heero was quiet for a moment as he wrapped up the cleaning. When he finished he looked out at the living room.

"Looks like they're enjoying themselves," he said, "I guess they won't mind if I get a little air."

This was what she'd been waiting for, and Ayeka seized her chance. "Sir Heero, would it be all right if I joined you? I must profess that a nice evening breeze does sound good right about now."

He looked at her for a moment before nodding. "All right."

Ayeka had to fight to keep herself from thrusting her fist into the air in a gesture of triumph. She had her opening, and she would not let it go to waste.

She quietly followed him through the living room and out the sliding door, once again grateful that the television had the full attention of the others. There was a slight drizzle, but the balcony was fully covered, and despite the precipitation it wasn't cold at all.

"It's too bad you and the others didn't arrive here earlier in the year," said Heero as he leaned on the railing, "Brussels is a great city to be in during late spring and early summer."

Ayeka smiled. "I'm sure it is. Your world's capital truly is an impressive city, Sir Heero."

Heero nodded. "It caught a lucky break, really. There was a big battle in the middle of it about two years ago."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "Really? Was this… during your rebellion?"

Heero shook his head. "No. The war I fought in was over at the time… officially, anyway. The people who took over this city were the ghosts of that rebellion, you might say. Fortunately we were able to take them down without doing too much damage to the city."

Ayeka nodded. "So you were fighting for the government then."

"Not officially," Heero replied, "I actually didn't join Preventers until after that rebellion was put down. I was more of an independent peacekeeper during that time. Working for a large organization wasn't really my thing. To tell you the truth, I'm actually still getting used to it."

 _There are so many layers to him_ , she thought, _I seem to learn just a little more about Sir Heero every time I talk to him… but there's still so much that I do not know._

Ayeka smiled. "Well, I for one am glad that you're working for this Preventers organization. If you were not we very well may never have met."

Heero nodded, and Ayeka had to fight to contain herself as she saw a very small smile appear on his face. "You're right. I'm glad things turned out this way… although I'm sure Director Une could've done without a crash landing so close to the capital."

Ayeka flushed with embarrassment, acutely aware of the role that she had played in that. "Oh, uhm, yes… I'm sorry about that."

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it. All things considered it could've been much worse. We all survived and we were able to manage the situation. Besides, I've already forgiven you for shooting me down, remember?"

Ayeka nodded. "I do, but I still regret it. I should've taken more time to analyze the situation, but… oh, whenever I get into a clash with that pirate my blood truly boils! I just lose all composure! It's not befitting the crown princess of Jurai, I'm well aware of that, but I just can't help myself!"

"It's all right," said Heero, "You and Ryoko clearly have a powerful rivalry. It's natural that things get heated whenever the two of you fight. Still, I do appreciate the two of you restraining yourselves during your stay here."

Ayeka smiled again. "Oh, it's no trouble at all, Sir Heero! It's the very least I could do for you after all the trouble you've gone through in hosting us!"

Heero nodded. "I have to admit, it is impressive that you're willing to fight her yourself. As a princess of the Empire I would've assumed you'd leave the combat to guards and soldiers."

Ayeka shook her head. "Other nobles and members of the royal family might, but my powers have developed to where I can more than hold my own against the likes of Ryoko."

"That's actually something I've been meaning to ask you about," said Heero, "Do all members of the Jurai Royal Family have powers like yours?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes, although it would be wrong to say that they are exactly like mine, or with the same level of development. I'm afraid it's rather complicated. The power is so old that the history of it has become rather hazy. It's rather difficult to separate fact from myth nowadays, actually."

"That's all right," said Heero, "I've got time if you're willing to explain it to me."

Ayeka smiled. Although Heero had asked her about her homeworld and the Empire before, it had usually related to topics such as politics and defense. The subject they were about to dive into was deeply intertwined with the culture, history, and mythology of Jurai. To share the roots of her power with Heero was something she saw as a means to grow closer to him, and she intended to make the most of it.

"Well," she began, "first it would be best to put things into proper context. Jurai is currently the most powerful interstellar nation in the galaxy, but it was not always this way. As you might imagine, it started out as a single world. The roots of the Empire stretch back to this ancient period. An exact date has long been debated by the reigning scholars on the matter, but no one has ever come up with a definitive answer. The most commonly accepted figure is roughly 150,000 years ago."

Heero was not a very expressive man, which was why Ayeka was greatly satisfied to see his eyes widen ever so slightly. It was good to know that even an individual as collected as him could be taken aback by something like the great age of her culture.

"That long ago…" he said softly, "Humans were still in the Stone Age at that time…"

"I must admit," said Ayeka, "it is rather daunting to put that span of time into perspective. Even though stars have life spans measured by billions of years, and the age of the galaxy itself even larger, from our point of view a span of 150,000 years is like peering into a bottomless abyss."

Heero nodded. "That's a good way to put it. I would assume that this point in time is where more of the myths come from than facts. Does that sound about right?"

"Yes," said Ayeka, "So much so that study of that cultural area is still a major focus of the Imperial Archeological Institution. There is so much knowledge from that era that has been lost to the flow of time, and as a culture we seem desperate to regain it. Perhaps it stems from our desire to reinforce our founding legends and myths with concrete evidence. Does that sound vain to you?"

Heero shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to discover or rediscover the past. You just have to make sure that you aren't letting your own cultural pride blind you to evidence that doesn't suit whatever preexisting notions you might have."

Ayeka smiled. "Wise words, Sir Heero."

"So," said Heero, "since myths seem to dominate this particular point in your nation's history, what can you tell me about them?"

"Well," said Ayeka, "there's so many of them that it's really hard to single out one or two for conversation. I suppose the best place for me to start would really be at the origin of both them and the power that's been passed down to me. The root of it all is a guardian entity called Tsunami."

"Tsunami?" said Heero, "We've got giant waves on Earth that we give that name to. I hope your Tsunami's not as violent as ours."

Ayeka shook her head. "No, not at all, or at least not according to the stories. Tsunami is quite peaceful… although she is also very powerful."

"So Tsunami's a goddess, then?" asked Heero.

Ayeka sighed. "To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how to describe her, especially since the only depictions I've seen are from artists' renditions and ancient artifacts. The legends do agree on the entity known as Tsunami definitely being female, but classification of her has always been somewhat tricky. We do know, or at least strongly believe, that she is the source of not just the power of the Jurai Royal Family, but also Jurai as a whole. It is from her might that the sacred trees which make up the core of our vessels sprout, and the wisdom found in ancient texts that are said to have been either written or inspired by her has guided our rulers for millennia."

"Quite an influential figure," said Heero.

Ayeka nodded. "Indeed. Whatever variances individual legends regarding her may have, they all have a common origin. It is believed that 150,000 years ago the man who would eventually become the first Emperor of Jurai stumbled upon the giant, sleeping form of Tsunami. Once she awoke and got the chance to study this individual, Tsunami is said to have made a pledge to him. She vowed to guide and protect him and his descendants while blessing them with great power. The most obvious manifestations of that power are, as I mentioned before, the Royal Trees, which are commonly thought to be somehow descended from Tsunami herself. Frankly I find myself at a loss for how a being whose physical form is described as quite similar to yours or mine could be the ancestor for trees, but I will not deny the incredible strength that they provide. I can certainly see Tsunami being involved with them, although in what manner is more difficult to pin down."

"I see," said Heero, "I'm assuming another manifestation of her power is the special abilities that you have."

Ayeka smiled. "Quite so! It is true that I was born with these talents, although it does take considerable training to bring out their full potential. To be honest I actually still have a considerable way to go before I can consider myself to have achieved mastery over my gifts."

"What you can do right now is already quite impressive," said Heero, "I can only imagine what you'll be capable of when you fully master your powers."

Ayeka practically beamed at his praise. "Oh, thank you, Sir Heero!"

"So," said Heero, "you have your abilities. What about Sasami? Does she have powers like yours, or do they only manifest in a few members of the Jurai Royal Family?"

"Well," said Ayeka, "the power of Jurai runs through the blood of all members of the Royal Family. However, my abilities are not the sole manner in how they may manifest. Many different powers have been catalogued throughout the millennia, although they do fall into certain patterns. For example, I am not the only member of my line that can generate barriers. Also, the powers don't always manifest at the same time in people. The point in which a member of the Jurai Royal Family truly awakens their powers tends to vary. Sasami hasn't hit that point yet. Although…"

"What is it?" asked Heero.

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. "I couldn't say for sure. It was quite a long time ago, and events were so chaotic that I could be misremembering them. However… it is possible that she's drawn upon them at least once in her life, although I couldn't say with any real certainty."

"What happened?" asked Heero.

"There was an attack on the palace," said Ayeka grimly, "They never found out who the culprit was. There was no declaration; no one ever claimed responsibility. Multiple explosions tore through the grounds and the halls. Scores died, although no members of the Royal Family were among the dead. It was a close thing, though; Sasami was gravely wounded in the blast. By the time we found her she was lying in a pool of her own blood… everyone was sure she was already dead, or on death's door."

"How did she survive?" asked Heero, and Ayeka could feel him studying her intensely.

Ayeka shook her head. "I… I honestly do not know, Sir Heero. One moment she appeared to be mortally wounded, and the next… there was this flash of green and white light. That's all I can remember. When we actually removed her clothing to examine the wound… there wasn't a mark on her!"

Heero appeared considerably taken aback. "You can't be serious."

Ayeka nodded emphatically. "I assure you that I am, Sir Heero. With all the blood she'd lost she should've had a monstrous wound, but there was _nothing_! What's more, when she awoke she didn't remember _anything_ about what had happened! Aside from that small gap in her memory she was completely healthy."

"And there hasn't been any sign of this phenomenon since then?" asked Heero.

"No," said Ayeka, "Whenever Sasami's injured herself we've always watched carefully to see if that same feat would repeat itself even as we've treated her, but it never has. Granted, this was a grievous wound, and any injuries she's suffered since then have been very minor."

Heero nodded. "I see. I suppose that's a good thing, though. A girl like her shouldn't have to face life-threatening danger at her age."

Ayeka smiled. "I completely agree, Sir Heero."

"So," said Heero, "is it just the main branch of the Jurai Royal Family that gets these powers, or do other branches get them too? You said that the history of your family stretches back 150 millennia. Given that timeframe your ancestors must've spread the family considerably."

Ayeka nodded. "Yes, you are quite right. The Jurai Royal Family has several distinct branches at this point, and the power that is inherent in the royal bloodline does indeed flow through them all to one degree or another. Sasami and I are part of the main branch, meaning we are first and second in line to the throne, respectively. The Emperor may be a male figure, but Empresses also hold considerable sway over our nation's politics, and in fact many have led the Empire themselves in times when a male heir from the main branch was not born. Even with their eventual marriages they were by no means diminished in stature and power."

Heero's eyes narrowed, and Ayeka was caught a bit off guard by the intensity of his gaze. "The other branches of your family couldn't have just sat idle over the millennia. To watch as the throne was kept in the grasp of the main branch… some of them had to have made a grab for power eventually."

Ayeka shuddered, but she would not deny the truth of Heero's words. "You are most astute, Sir Heero. There have been several points in the history of the Empire where a member of a branch family, or in rare cases an entire branch, have tried to usurp the throne. Succession may be codified by Imperial law, but even so times of approaching transition have always been tense within Jurai. Attempted coups are the most common manifestations of the other branches' ambitions, although most are quelled before they become truly threatening. That being said, blood has been spilt for the throne in the past. Even failed palace revolutions can be brutal affairs."

"What about civil war?" asked Heero, "That has to have cropped up at some point in the Empire's history."

Ayeka closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the lessons of her tutors. "Only once… but it was a conflict that raged across the entire galaxy, and lasted for nearly two millennia. The bloodshed was staggering. Entire worlds were consumed… all because of the lust for power. Eventually my branch emerged victorious, but… oh, I could never say this at home…"

"Then it's a good thing you're not home right now," said Heero, his eyes meeting hers, "If it's something you want to drop then I'll let it go, but I won't share your secret with anyone else, Ayeka. You can speak freely here."

Ayeka's heart fluttered at his words. "Thank you, Sir Heero. That… that means a great deal to me."

 _I don't know why I trust him so_ , she thought, _but there is no denying it at this point. I believe in him. Sir Heero will never let me down!_

She took a deep breath to center herself, and all the while she saw Heero patiently waiting for her. Oh, why did she have to return to Jurai tomorrow? It was so hard to find someone in the Empire outside of her sister and possibly her mother that she could really talk to, but she had found the perfect confidant on a planet so far from home in the form of her wonderful host.

"The truth is," she said carefully, "I've sometimes wondered… if it was really worth it. I will not deny my branch of the family's right to the throne, but… is power bought at the price of so much innocent blood really power we should desire? For as long as I can remember I've been told that the Empire of Jurai is both the center of the galaxy and the wellspring of prosperity across the stars. I've never questioned it publicly, and I do believe that my father and mother truly do want what is best for all who are under our aegis of protection and responsibility. However, if a power struggle within the Empire has the potential to cause death and suffering on a galactic scale… do we truly deserve the power that we hold?"

Were she at the palace and had voiced those words the rebuke would've been unanimous and harsh. What she had just spoken was political heresy against the Empire. Even her parents, who were relatively understanding with her, would be shocked by what she'd just said to Heero.

She watched Heero carefully as he shook his head. "I'm not a politician, Ayeka. I'm a soldier. Power and authority aren't things that have held much draw for me in the past, so it's hard for me to relate to those who would seek them out. I do know that people like me are the ones drawn into the fighting when politicians start wars, though, and I don't like fighting for the ambitions of a few power-hungry individuals. My desire is to use my skills to preserve peace and protect both those close to me and the people of the Earth Sphere. If any ruler threatened to plunge the world into a bloodbath then I would do everything in my power to stop them."

"Would that include your own ruler?" asked Ayeka.

Heero nodded. "Yes. If the government that I serve becomes a threat to the peace that I've fought for then I won't hesitate to act against them. This world's had enough war, and I won't let anyone start another one."

 _So principled_ , she thought, _and so noble. He puts the people first, even if it means fighting against a superior force. Sir Heero… you truly are a knight._

"To answer your question about deserving the power that you currently have," said Heero, "I don't think those that were willing to engage in such a destructive war deserve the right to rule. Perhaps your branch of the family may have been in the right at the start of the conflict, but from the way it escalated I can't hold any party blameless, especially with that level of bloodshed."

Ayeka looked down. "I… I see."

"However," he said, causing her to look back up at him, "I do think that you're being a little too hard on yourself. You didn't have anything to do with the war, correct?"

Ayeka shook her head nervously. "Well… no."

Heero nodded. "Then the sins of those who fought it are not yours. If you bear any responsibility it is only the duty to do your part to ensure that the galaxy doesn't suffer from another bloody conflict brought about by the internal power struggles of the Royal Family. The fact that you're willing to question your family's power tells me all I need to know; you really do care about your people, and I think you'd be well suited to lead them someday."

Ayeka smiled, her heart soaring at his words. "Thank you, Sir Heero! I promise that when the time comes I will do everything in my power to live up to your beliefs!"

Heero shook his head. "Live up to your own beliefs, Ayeka, and those of your people. Do that and you will protect them from the politics of both your family and the imperial court."

Ayeka bowed. "I shall, Sir Heero."

She watched as he looked out over the railing at the city. "Are you really ready to return home? I'm no royal, but I understand a few things about the lives of the nobility. You have some heavy responsibilities waiting for you back in Jurai."

 _How perceptive, Sir Heero_ , she thought, _and how unfortunately true your words are._

"I… I do not know," she said quietly, "I know that I _must_ be prepared; it is expected of me, after all. As crown princess of the Empire I have my duties to both my family and the people. However… is it wrong that I wish I could stay here with you longer, Sir Heero?"

She smiled as she saw the young man shake his head. "Not at all. I'm sure being out here is liberating when compared to the responsibilities you have back home."

Ayeka could not help but laugh. "Oh, you have no idea, Sir Heero. While life out here has certainly been a bit more… _exciting_ than I am accustomed to, I must admit that not having to deal with the obligations of my position for once in my life is most relaxing. I can say, without a hint of exaggeration, that the time I've spent on this planet with you has been the most fun that I've had in a long, long time."

Those words were true, but she wanted to say so much more. Despite her earlier laugh Ayeka was actually feeling quite tense. Her heart was hammering as she realized that Heero's hand on the railing was mere centimeters from hers. It would be such a small move to take a hold of it, but for Ayeka it would require incredible nerve.

 _Do it!_ , her mind screamed at her, _You will not get another chance!_

Taking a deep breath, she gently put her hand atop his as she met his gaze. "Sir Heero… there is something that I must tell you."

He looked back at her, and Ayeka wanted to kick herself for not noticing sooner just how beautiful his piercing blue eyes were. "What is it?"

He hadn't made any more to shake her hand off of his. That was a small sign of encouragement, and one that Ayeka desperately needed right now.

"Sir Heero," she said slowly, "I want… I want you to know that I think you are an incredible young man. Even after I shot at you during our first encounter you have treated me with nothing but courtesy and understanding. I… I feel most fortunate that I was able to spend my time on this world with you. You are unlike anyone I've ever met in Jurai, and… and I will miss you dearly when I return home."

There was so much more that she wanted to say, but with the way her heart was hammering it was all Ayeka could do to spit that much out. Oh, why did she have to become so fond of a man that she'd known she would have to leave behind forever eventually? Why, when there were suitors waiting for her back home, had her heart decided to set its sights on a man that she could never be with?

Heero nodded. "I'll miss you too, Ayeka. I'd never planned on taking in roommates, but I'm glad that you came to stay under my roof. I actually wish that you could stay longer. Having you and the others here has… well, it's brightened up my life in a way I never imagined."

Ayeka smiled. "I'm glad that I could do that for you, Sir Heero. I know that you have done the same for me. I… I will _never_ forget you, Sir Heero."

She found herself slowly leaning closer to him, and she felt an incredible surge of heat rush to her face when she realized just what she was trying to do. There was his face, lean and clean-shaven, smooth and handsome…

…and his lips a mere hand's breadth from hers.

"I…" she said, so softly it was almost a whisper.

"Ayeka!" said a familiar female voice.

Ayeka nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Sasami calling her name. Spinning around faster than she'd ever moved in her life, she saw her little sister standing in the open sliding door frame, an innocent smile on her face.

 _Oh, no!_ , she thought as her face flushed an incredibly deep shade of red, _How long was she there?_

"Sa… Sasami!" she stammered, "What are you doing out here?"

"There's this really cool show on the TV!" said her sister as she grabbed her hand, "Come on, you have to watch it with us!"

"Oh…" she said, looking back and forth between Sasami and Heero, "I… well, I don't know…"

She saw Heero give her a small nod and a smile. "It's all right. I think I'll join you, if you don't mind."

"Not at all!" she said quickly, "This is your home, after all!"

"Let's go!" cried Sasami as she tugged on Ayeka's hand.

Letting Sasami lead, Ayeka and Heero followed her back into the house and into the living room. The three of them sat down on the couch, and while Mihoshi was quite absorbed in the screen Ryoko shot them a suspicious glare.

"Just what were you two up to out there?" asked the pirate.

Ayeka could not help but smirk at her rival. "Oh, nothing a petty skank like you would find interesting!"

"What was that?" Ryoko growled, "You trying to start something, princess?"

"Come on, don't fight you two!" said Sasami, "It's our last night here! Besides, the show's back on!"

"I'm with Sasami," said Heero as he looked at Ayeka and Ryoko, "Stand down, both of you. Let's try to enjoy this evening while it lasts."

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "As you wish, Sir Heero."

Ryoko folded her arms and huffed. "Fine. Consider yourself lucky, Ayeka."

She did, but not for the reason Ryoko would've preferred. Ayeka was glad that Heero and Sasami had broken up the fight because that would've been a horrible note to let her last night at his residence end on. With some reflection, Ayeka supposed that she was also fortunate that Sasami's interruption earlier with her and Heero had occurred when it did. If she had actually managed to kiss him, she likely would've turned the good friendship they had built up over her stay here into a very awkward one on the eve of her departure. No, it was better this way. Better that she and him part as good friends without something like _that_ hanging over them.

That was the sentiment in her head…

…although her heart was not entirely in agreement.

….

 **September 30** **th** **, A.C. 198**

 _This is it_ , thought Heero as he stood on the floor of Base Green's hangar looking up at Sasami's ship, _For better or worse, it's finally here._

With him were Ryoko with Ryo-Ohki in her arms, Ayeka, Mihoshi, Sasami, Azaka and Kamidake. Sally and Lady Une were nearby as well talking with one of the lead researchers that had been studying Sasami's ship while it had sat in the hangar during Sasami's stay. Heero was sure that they were reluctant to let the ship go, but he also knew from what Sally had told him that they'd learned a great deal from the two weeks that they'd been able to examine the vessel. They'd had it long enough; it was time for its rightful owner to take possession of it again.

"Well," said Ayeka, "it looks like they treated your ship very well, Sasami. Not that I expected anything less from the organization that Sir Heero works for."

Sasami nodded and smiled. "Yup. It looks all ready to go!"

"Yay!" cried Mihoshi, "I can finally go home!"

"At long last," said Azaka, "It will be wonderful to return to Jurai!"

"Indeed," said Kamidake, "I'm sure Princess Ayeka's parents have been worried sick about her!"

"Yeah, whatever," Ryoko mumbled, "Can we just get this thing on the road already?"

"Just wait, Ryoko," Heero admonished her, "When everyone's ready, they'll depart."

Ryoko sighed before smiling at him. "Oh, alright. Just as long as you don't try to ship me off with them. I can guarantee you that wouldn't go well."

"That I don't doubt a bit," Heero deadpanned.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Glancing over at Ayeka, Heero saw her looking back and forth rather anxiously between him and Sasami's ship. When she saw him she smiled, but she still looked nervous to him. Heero couldn't blame her; what she was returning to was not something to be taken lightly. Their talk the night before had illustrated that quite clearly.

 _She's got a heavy burden on her shoulders_ , he thought, _but she'll be all right. Ayeka's a lot stronger than she gives herself credit for._

His thoughts lingered for just a moment on the latter part of their conversation last night. Heero was struck by just how sincere Ayeka had been when she'd told him how she felt about her stay with him. He'd expected a polite display of gratitude from her, and while she'd certainly not disappointed in that regard she had also gone well beyond that. Ayeka seemed genuinely distressed at her imminent departure and had apparently become fonder of Heero than he had realized.

For Heero, he was rather surprised to realize that the same could be said of him. Much like how he felt about Ryoko, Heero could see that he genuinely cared about Ayeka as well, and her absence would definitely be felt once she left the Sol system. The same went for Mihoshi and Sasami too. None of them were just guests that his superiors had thrust upon him anymore; they were all _friends_ , and Heero was about to lose most of them.

He sighed. There was nothing that could be done about that now except that make sure that their departure went smoothly and that they knew how he felt about the time they'd spent with him and the impact that they'd had on him. Heero wasn't the most expressive young man, but he was determined to try to relay his genuine feelings this time.

All too soon he saw Lady Une and Sally walk over towards them. Both women had relieved smiles on their faces, and Heero couldn't blame him. Having to play host to several alien women and keeping the matter concealed from the public was no small task. Once Sasami's ship was safely out of the Sol system it would make their lives much easier.

"Well," said Sally, "I think we're all ready on our end. The sun set quite a while ago, and there's some rainfall right now. The risk of exposure is pretty minimal, so now's the bet time for takeoff."

"We appreciate your cooperation in this matter," said Lady Une, "We've learned so much studying your ship, Sasami, even if it was only for two weeks. Earth's space craft technology will advance by orders of magnitude thanks to you. We're in your debt."

Sasami smiled. "I'm glad it helped you out. Thanks for taking care of it!"

"Perhaps someday we may return to this world," said Ayeka, "When it is ready for an official encounter with the Empire of Jurai, of course."

Sally smiled. "We'd appreciate a heads up before any more of your ships come to visit."

Ayeka bowed. "Of course."

"Well I'll definitely come by to visit!" said Mihoshi, "Earth's in my jurisdiction, after all!"

"If you do," said Lady Une, "please be so kind as to avoid crashing your ship again."

 _With Mihoshi I'm not sure if that's possible_ , thought Heero, _I guess we'll just have to hope for the best._

"Okay!" chirped Mihoshi.

"We'll start opening the hatch," said Sally.

"Wait," said Heero, "Do you mind giving us a minute first?"

Both Sally and Lady Une looked rather taken aback, and Heero couldn't blame them; he wasn't normally the type for sentimentality. However, it felt wrong to just send them on their way so briskly.

He looked at Ayeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, Azaka and Kamidake. "I'm glad I got the chance to meet all of you. I actually did enjoy the time that we spent together. I hope you have a safe trip home."

Heero wasn't surprised in the least to see Mihoshi start to tear up, although she did take him off guard by suddenly rushing forward and taking him into a hug. "Aw, I'm gonna miss you, Heero!"

Heero nodded, awkwardly returning her hug. "Take care, Mihoshi. Work hard, and try to be a little more careful when you're flying your ship."

Mihoshi nodded as she let him go. "I will. Thank you for everything!"

 _She's been a handful_ , he thought, _but she has a good heart. However, I'm not sure any amount of hard work on her part can help her overcome her rather… hapless nature._

He saw Sasami walk over to Ryoko and give Ryo-Ohki a pat on the head. "I'm gonna miss you, Ryo-Ohki!"

"Meow!" cried the cat-rabbit.

"Ryoko," said Sasami, "take care of her, okay?"

Heero was surprised to see Ryoko give the girl a smile, and one without a hint of sarcasm in it at that. "Sure thing, kid."

Sasami then turned to Heero and bowed. "Thank you for everything, Heero! I learned a lot from you. I promise I'll come back and visit you sometime!"

Heero nodded. "I'd like that. Maybe we could cook together again."

Sasami smiled. "That would be fun! Take care, Heero!"

"You too, Sasami," he replied.

 _She's got a bright future ahead of her_ , he thought, _I'm sure she'll grow into a lovely woman. I wonder what she'll be like then… it would be interesting to find out._

He then saw Ayeka step forward and give him a bow. "Sir Heero, I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for me during my stay here."

"We appreciate your patience and understanding very much," said Azaka.

"Please forgive any inconvenience we might have caused!" said Kamidake.

Heero shook his head. "It's fine. No need to worry about it."

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka with a smile, "regarding what we discussed last night… I want you to know that I will never forget your words of encouragement. I will serve my people to the best of my abilities, and it will be your example that guides me!"

 _I'm not sure if an assassin like me is the best role model for a princess dedicated to serving her people_ , he thought, _Of course, she doesn't know about that bit. That's definitely for the best._

"You're a strong woman, Ayeka," he said, "Believe in yourself and do what you think is right. You'll be just fine."

Ayeka bowed. "Thank you, Sir Heero."

She stepped back and joined the others by the ship before turning to Heero's superiors. "Director Une, Lady Sally? I believe that we're ready."

Lady Une nodded. "All right. I wish you a safe journey."

"As do I," said Sally before turning to a nearby technician, "Okay, open up the hatch!"

The man nodded before racing off to carry out her order, and Sally and Lady Une headed for a nearby door. A few seconds latter there was a loud grinding noise from above as the heavy doors slowly began to retract. Rain immediately began to fall through the opening, and Heero was glad that they were all standing under cover.

 _Well_ , he thought as he looked at the ship and the people standing in front of it, _the time has come. I've still got Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki with me, but… it won't be the same without the rest of them._

Proper goodbyes had been said, so why did Heero still think that something was left out? He'd done everything that he knew how to do in order to give Ayeka and the others a heartfelt farewell. Were his efforts really so lacking?

Looking around, his eyes fell on Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki. Studying the cat-rabbit in particular, an odd thought crept into his mind. It wasn't like him at all… but then again, so much of his life had been thrown far out of the realm of ordinary for him over the past month that thoughts like this one were quickly becoming the new normal.

 _Well_ , he mused as he looked up at the cloudy night sky, _I don't see any harm in it. It would only be for a little bit… and it would be a much better sendoff._

"Ryoko," said Heero, "Ryo-Ohki is fully recovered, right?"

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. Why, what's up?"

As the doors high above finished opening Heero took a glance at Sasami's ship before turning back to the pirate and her pet. "Do you think she'd be up for a flight?"

Ryoko's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Heero nodded. "I know you have your differences with Ayeka. I'm not asking you to be friends with her, but she's been under my roof for the same amount of time as you up until today. Why don't we give her an escort?"

"Whoa, hold on!" said Ryoko, "You don't expect me to…"

"… go with her all the way back to Jurai?" Heero finished for her, "Of course not. Just a small parting flight, no further than Mars. Consider it a final courtesy before Ayeka and the others leave the Sol system… and a favor to me."

Ryoko smiled. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess I can't say no. You really are a sly devil, you know that?"

"I'll take your word for it," Heero replied.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Ayeka.

Ryoko smirked. "You'll see, princess."

"Come on, Ayeka!" cried Sasami, "It's time!"

Ayeka sighed. "Yes, I suppose it is. Farewell, Sir Heero. Ryoko… well, if you stay out here then I will not alert Imperial forces to your presence. For Sir Heero's sake, not yours!"

"Aw, now that's nice of you!" said Ryoko, and Heero could've sworn that beneath her sarcasm there may have been just the tiniest hint of actual gratitude, "Since you're leaving Heero to me I guess the least I can do is stay out of your boring little empire for a little while."

"Boring?" growled Ayeka, "You dare insult the empire after I've just given you leniency? The nerve! Were it not for my royal obligations I would remain here and dispense the justice you so clearly have coming to you!"

Heero was afraid that he'd have to step in between them, but it was at that moment that a green light shot out from Sasami's ship and engulfed her and the others.

Ryoko grinned. "Oh yeah, I've got plenty of nerve. Too bad you don't, or you'd tell mommy and daddy to take your 'royal obligations' and shove them where the sun don't shine!"

"Please stop fighting!" cried Mihoshi as she grabbed Ayeka, "You're my ride home!"

If Ayeka had an answer Heero didn't get to hear it. At that moment the green light grew even brighter, and with a flash Ayeka and the others had disappeared inside Sasami's ship.

"That's right!" yelled Ryoko, "You'd better run!"

"Ryoko…" Heero said.

Ryoko looked at him and smiled. "All right, I'll cut it out. So, when do you want me to have Ryo-Ohki do her thing?"

"Let's wait until Sasami's ship clears the opening up there," said Heero, "I'd rather we didn't get in a crash inside Base Green's hangar."

Ryoko nodded. "Sounds good."

Heero grabbed his smart phone and dialed Sally. "Where are you?"

"In the main control room with Lady Une," Sally replied, "What's up, Heero?"

"When Sasami's ship clears the doors, don't close them," said Heero, "At least not until we're clear?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sally.

"Hold on!" said another female voice over the speaker, one that Heero recognized as belonging to Lady Une, "Heero, you can't be thinking what I think you are!"

"Why not?" he asked, "We've already got one ship launching. Why not launch another and see what it can do? It's as good a chance as any for me to study Ryo-Ohki's capabilities outside of combat."

"This is reckless," said Lady Une, "even for you."

"If the risk for exposure for Sasami's ship is minimal, then the same would go for Ryo-Ohki in these conditions," said Heero, "We might as well take the chance to learn more about what she can do. Besides, a test flight might fun."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment before Heero heard something that sounded oddly like…

…laughter?

 _Was it something I said?_ , he thought, _I wasn't trying to be funny…_

After a few seconds he heard Sally's voice. "I'll be damned… I see at least one of those girls is rubbing off on you, Heero."

"Indeed," said Lady Une, "You never would've said something like that a month ago."

"You're losing me here," Heero replied.

"We're saying you're good to go," said Sally, "Although I have to ask; did Ryoko talk you into this?"

Heero looked at the space pirate before shaking his head. "No, this was purely my idea. Why?"

"No reason," said Lady Une, "Very well, we'll wait until you're clear before we close up the base. I hope your… _test flight_ goes well."

"Have fun, Heero!" said Sally before she hung up.

 _Well_ , thought Heero as he put the smart phone away, _I'm not sure what I was expecting… but it definitely wasn't that._

"What's up, Heero?" asked Ryoko, "We good to go?"

Heero nodded. "Once Sasami's ship is clear, have Ryo-Ohki transform."

Ryoko smiled. "You got it! I think you're going to enjoy this!"

"We'll see," Heero replied.

They watched as Sasami's ship slowly began to ascend. Rainwater started flowing off the vessel's hull as it rose. Heero was concerned that part of the ship might get caught on a catwalk or the edge of the opening above, but the vessel moved with remarkable smoothness and precision.

 _Not bad_ , he thought, _I hope the scientists who were studying the ship managed to figure out the flight systems. This thing's hardly even making any noise._

The ship gradually picked up speed, and before Heero knew it the vessel had completely cleared the opening and was racing up towards the rainclouds. He waited for the craft to put a little more distance between itself and Base Green before turning to Ryoko.

"All right," he said, "Show me what she's got."

Ryoko nodded, and Heero was rather surprised by how she unceremoniously grabbed Ryo-Ohki by the scruff of her neck and chucked her into the air. "Ryo-Ohki, go!"

"Meow!" cried the cat-rabbit.

Almost immediately the creature began shifting. Its fluffy body became angular and rapidly enlarged. The transformation sequence was quite rapid, and mere seconds later Heero found himself looking at the crystalline vessel he'd encountered in orbit nearly a month ago.

"Impressive," he said, "I bet that comes in handy when you need to make an escape."

"Oh, yeah!" Ryoko replied, "Ryo-Ohki's great for a quick getaway!"

"So," said Heero, "how exactly do we board her?"

"Oh, that's easy," said Ryoko, and before Heero could react she threw her arms around him and grinned up at her ship, "Ryo-Ohki, now!"

"Meow!" the living starship cried.

A bright red light shot out of the vessel, much like the green one that had emanated from Sasami's craft. Heero was forced to shield his eyes, and when he opened them again he saw that he was in a very different place.

 _I didn't even feel myself move_ , he thought as he looked around, _That was… not what I was expecting._

The room he found himself in was quite alien, but he was still able to recognize it as Ryo-Ohki's control center. Like the exterior, the interior of the vessel had a very crystalline appearance. Heero was standing on a slightly raised platform, and next to him was Ryoko with her hands on a very smooth control panel. Several dark grey crystals were floating in midair, and while Heero didn't know what they were for he guessed that they functioned as displays of some kind.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Heero nodded. "It's… interesting."

Ryoko pouted. "Oh, come on, that's it?"

"It's enough for now," said Heero as he turned to what was clearly the main monitor since he could see the opened ceiling doors of Base Green on it, "Are we good to go?"

Ryoko smiled. "You got it. You might want to grab onto something first."

"Okay," said Heero as he braced himself against the control panel next to Ryoko.

Heero didn't like how Ryoko smirked at him, but there was nothing he could do other than hold on for dear life as the space pirate looked at one of the floating crystals and grinned.

"Hit it, Ryo-Ohki!"

The gray crystal shifted, and Heero was surprised to see none other than the furry face of Ryo-Ohki reflected in the gem. "Meow!"

Even braced against the console, Heero was not wholly prepared for the speed at which Ryo-Ohki took off. His knees buckled as the living starship shot out of the hangar like a bullet, and it was only thanks to his strength and training that he was able to avoid falling to the floor.

Ryoko gave him an approving smile as Ryo-Ohki rapidly gained altitude. "Not bad, Heero. Thought for sure I'd get to see you fall on your ass!"

"I'm not that easy to knock over," Heero replied as he steadied himself.

Ryoko chuckled. "Good to know, hotshot."

"How far out are they?" asked Heero as he looked at the main display.

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "Further than I thought. Sasami's ship is pretty fast."

"Can we catch them?" asked Heero.

Ryoko grinned. "You bet! Ryo-Ohki's one of the fastest ships in the galaxy. We'll be on them before they clear Earth orbit!"

Ryo-Ohki seemed determined to live up to Ryoko's boast. On the screen Heero could see Sasami's ship growing larger at a steady pace. Despite the initial rough start Heero was surprised at how smooth the ascent was going now; he wasn't having to brace nearly as much as he had earlier.

"So," said Ryoko, "what's the plan?"

"Like I told you earlier," Heero replied, "just a farewell escort flight. No further than Mars. Given how fast Ryo-Ohki moved through the system when you first arrived that shouldn't be a problem."

Ryoko nodded. "Sounds good!"

….

Her gaze fixed on the screen, Ayeka watched as Sasami's ship smoothly and gracefully climbed through Earth's atmosphere. They had already cleared the rainclouds, and the blue sky above was rapidly giving way to the black of space and the specks of distant stars.

 _Such a small world_ , she thought as the ship continued to ascend, _and yet… it is quite a memorable one. Especially the people who live there._

 _Sir Heero…_

They hadn't even cleared Earth's gravity well and already Ayeka's heart ached with longing. The farewell down in the hangar of Base Green had gone reasonably well, but Ayeka knew that there was so much more that she could've said. The missed opportunities kept replaying themselves in her head, and the Juraian princess cursed her cowardice. Now she would never have the chance to truly give voice to the feelings in her heart.

She knew that she would never meet another man like Heero again. The Empire of Jurai was vast and wealthy, but Ayeka would trade it all away in a heartbeat for the chance to be with her host again. Duty and obligation had never weighed so heavily upon her shoulders as now. She would return to her home and her people, but Ayeka knew that her heart would always long for the small world of Earth and the comforting presence of its handsome guardian.

"Princess Ayeka," said Azaka, "you seem troubled."

"What is the matter, your highness?" asked Kamidake.

Ayeka shook her head. "It's nothing."

She felt Sasami tug at her sleeve, and when Ayeka turned to her sister she saw her smiling. "It's Heero, isn't it?"

Ayeka quickly turned away. "It's nothing like that at all!"

Sasami giggled. "You don't have to hide it from me, Ayeka. I know you like him!"

Ayeka sighed as she reluctantly faced her sister. "Was it really that obvious?"

Sasami nodded. "He made you smile, Ayeka. A real smile, too! How many boys back home could do that?"

"None that I can recall…" she mused.

"See?" said Sasami, "I told you!"

"Wow…" said Mihoshi, "Sasami, you're so smart!"

Ayeka shook her head, both at her sister and the clueless cop. "Regardless of my feelings, the fact remains that I could only know Sir Heero temporarily. My place is with Jurai… no matter how much my heart may disagree."

"I know we have to go home and get Mihoshi back to the Galaxy Police," said Sasami, "but you should tell Heero how you really feel before you go!"

Ayeka gave her sister a melancholic smile. "I'm sorry, Sasami, but I'm afraid that moment has passed me by. Fate can be such a cruel thing at times."

"Princess!" Azaka cut in, "A ship appears to be approaching!"

"It's Ryo-Ohki!" cried Kamidake.

Ayeka's eyes widened. "You cannot be serious!"

"It's Ryoko!" cried Sasami, "She's coming with us!"

"Yay!" cried Mihoshi, "She really does care about us!"

"Oh, she most certainly is _not_!" huffed Ayeka as she glared at the image of her rival's ship on the main display, "Hail her at once!"

The display shifted, and if Ayeka had been surprised before she was absolutely stunned to see not only Ryoko but also Heero appear on the screen.

"Sir-Sir Heero!" she stammered, "I… what is the meaning of this?"

"Call it a farewell flight," he replied, "We're giving you a little escort. Not too far, but… well, I thought it was a more fitting way to say goodbye."

Ayeka was quite astonished at this. "And you were able to talk Ryoko into using her ship for this? What terms did she agree to?"

The pirate folded her arms. "I'm doing this strictly as a favor to Heero, so don't get any ideas, Ayeka!"

An elbow nudged her, and Ayeka looked down to see her sister grinning at her. "Now's your chance, Ayeka!"

Ayeka blushed furiously. "Sasami… I can't just…"

"Is everything all right?" asked Heero.

Ayeka quickly turned back to the screen. "Oh, yes! Sir Heero, I must express my profound gratitude at this gesture of yours. Truly, your nobility and courtesy know no bounds!"

"Ayeka," said Heero, "you don't need to stand on ceremony with me."

Ayeka smiled. "You are too kind, Sir Heero. The truth is… there is something I wished to tell you before we parted ways. I do not know why, but I could not say so down in the hangar before."

 _This is it_ , she thought, _my last chance to truly express my feelings! It shall not go to waste!_

….

Sasami smiled as she watched her older sister talk with Heero. She knew Ayeka all too well, and it had hurt her to witness her sister's obvious heartache as the ship had begun its departure from Earth. Thanks to Heero's unexpected decision to provide them with a temporary escort Ayeka would have a chance to get her heavy emotional burden off her chest.

She absently put her hand in her pocket and was rather surprised to feel a hard object when she did. "What's this?"

Grabbing the object and pulling it out, Sasami realized that it was a carrot. She smiled as she looked at the orange vegetable. It was a pleasant reminder of Ryo-Ohki, and Sasami wondered if she would be able to grow some carrots when they returned to Jurai.

Unfortunately for Sasami and everyone else on both ships, the younger princess had unknowingly made a crucial mistake by bringing that carrot out into the open where everyone could see it… one that would have dramatic consequences.

….

In her ship form Ryo-Ohki did not possess her traditional pair of eyes, but she was far from blind. Her sensors took over to provide her with visual data, and she could see just as clearly as when she was in her cat-rabbit form, if not more so. The way she perceived her other senses underwent some slight variation in her ship form, but she was still completely aware of her surroundings… and still very much at the mercy of her primal urges.

Therefore, when Sasami had pulled the carrot out of her pocket, she had brought it into view of not just Heero and Ryoko, but also Ryo-Ohki. What her passengers could see on her screen Ryo-Ohki could see as well, and spotting that carrot triggered the most precious stimuli to a cat-rabbit; the sense of taste.

A cat-rabbit like Ryo-Ohki was an incredible creature, but even she could not fight the overpowering and primal urge that was sweeping through her now. She could see a carrot.

She _loved_ carrots.

She _would_ have that carrot.

And woe be to anyone that happened to get in her way.

Or happened to be aboard her, for that matter.

….

 _Oh, great_ , thought Ryoko dryly as she watched Ayeka struggle with her words, _don't tell me she's going to pick_ now _of all times to confess her feelings to Heero? Right when I thought that I'd be rid of her for a while. Damn it, why did I let Heero talk me into this? I could've said no and found some other way to pay him back for everything, right? Would that have been so bad?_

Ayeka hadn't spit anything out yet, which meant Ryoko still had time to sabotage her. The devious pirate was in the middle of formulating a plot when she caught something on the screen out of the corner of her eye.

 _Oh, crap_ , she thought as she saw Sasami off to the side, _Please tell me that's not…_

Unfortunately it was; Sasami was holding a carrot.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki with joy.

"Ryoko," said Heero, "what's going on?"

Before she could reply Ryo-Ohki answered Heero's question for him. The crystals floating around the two of them began to shift. First Ryo-Ohki's face appeared on them, and then that image was rapidly followed by Sasami's outstretched hand and the carrot it held.

That seemed to be all Heero needed to grasp the situation. "No… she wouldn't…"

" _Meow!_ " screamed Ryo-Ohki, and the living starship surged forward.

"Ryo-Ohki is approaching fast!" Ryoko heard Azaka say over the screen.

"She's heading right for us!" cried Kamidake.

"Ryoko!" shouted Ayeka, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Look out, Ayeka!" cried Ryoko.

Ayeka looked puzzled at her warning. "What?"

"Damn it!" hissed Heero, who was already bracing himself against the main console.

"Ayeka, move!" yelled Ryoko, "Ryo-Ohki's going to ram you and I can't stop her!"

Ayeka's eyes widened in shock. "What? Stop her!"

" _I just said that I can't, you idiot!_ " screamed Ryoko.

"What's going on?" asked Sasami innocently, the carrot that had started it all still held in her hand.

"Crap!" said Ryoko, bracing herself alongside Heero, "This is gonna hurt!"

"Ryoko!" cried Ayeka, "Stop this at once!"

 _"_ _ **Meow!**_ " cried Ryo-Ohki.

"I'm too young to die!" shrieked Mihoshi.

And with a fearsome crash she slammed into Sasami's ship.

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Heero: Don't ask how, but we're all still alive._

 _Ryoko: Ow… damn it, Ryo-Ohki! You could've killed us!_

 _Ryo-Ohki: Meow…_

 _Ayeka: This is all your fault, Ryoko! Seriously, how could you lose control over your ship?_

 _Ryoko: Hey, princess, your sister was the one that brought out the carrot! Blame her and Ryo-Ohki's poor impulse control!_

 _Sasami: I'm sorry!_

 _Lady Une: Well… this presents a dilemma._

 _Sally: Yup. Looks like Heero's gonna be stuck with these ladies for longer than we thought. That apartment of his is just not going to cut it anymore._

 _Lady Une: Agreed. I'll have one of our safe houses prepped… one that's far away from the capital._

 _Heero: Probably for the best._

 _Ryoko: So, where are we going?_

 _Heero: An island region called Japan._

 _Ayeka: Well, at least we get to visit a new place._

 _Sasami: This'll be fun!_

 _Mihoshi: I hope the food's good!_

 _Katsuhito Masaki: Well, new neighbors! Welcome, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm the keeper of the Masaki shrine._

 _Heero: He seems nice enough. I guess it's harmless having a Shinto priest as a neighbor. There's hardly anyone else around here._

 _Ryoko: Hey, Heero, let's go check out that cave over there!_

 _Katsuhito: Hmmm…. I wonder…_

 _Ayeka: Ryoko, come back here at once! Release Sir Heero immediately!_

 _Sasami: Hey, wait for me!_

 _Mihoshi: Me too!_

 _Katsuhito: I wonder what will happen when they find the 'demon' sealed in there? This should be interesting._

 _Ryoko: Next time, in Chapter Six: No Need To Be Blinded With Science!_

 _Washu Hakubi: It is I, the greatest scientific genius in the universe, Washu!_

 _Mini Washu-Bot A: Washu, you're amazing!_

 _Mini Washu-Bot B: The greatest genius in the universe!_

 _Heero: This is not going to end well…_

 **Author's Notes:** Whew, nice to have a new chapter for this story posted, it's been far too long! I hope you all were paying attention during Ayeka's back-story spiel, because some of that information is going to be pretty important later on in the story. Oh, and as for Katsuhito showing up in the next chapter… well, I only said that Tenchi Masaki would not be showing up in this story if you recall my author's notes at the start of the fic: I never said anything about Katsuhito. As for why he's entering the stage… you'll just have to wait and see.

Hope you liked the chapter. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes:** Hey everyone, how are you? My apologies for the delay; this chapter wound up being much bigger than I'd originally planned. That seems to be a common theme with my writing, now that I think about it… ah well, too late to change that habit now!

I'm once again playing fast and loose with the continuity of the Tenchi Muyo franchise, drawing on elements from both the original OVA and Tenchi Universe along with adding in original content of my own. Pay attention, because some of the stuff that's mentioned in this chapter is going to pop back up later on in a big way, especially with regards to the opening scene!

Well, I think that about does it for now. Enjoy!

 **Chapter Six: No Need To Be Blinded With Science!**

 **Several centuries ago…**

Her hands cuffed in front of her, Washu Hakubi walked down the aisle towards the podium. Despite her circumstances her head was held high, and anyone in the gallery could get a good look at the most notorious mad scientist in the universe. Her stature was on the shorter side, so much so that it was quite easy to mistake her for a teenage girl rather than recognize her for the grown woman and brilliant researcher that she truly was. Her bright red-pink hair was tied up in a ponytail that fell well past her waist and spread out wildly despite its restraint. Her pale skin only serve to emphasize her green eyes which always seemed to be alight with some new spark of genius…or insanity, depending on who one asked. A black and white robe adorned her body, tied with a cream colored sash, while the opening in the robe revealed a dark purple tunic and tan leggings; a rather nice outfit given her particular situation. Those clothes did very little hide her lithe and slender frame.

 _Old fools_ , she thought as she scanned the faces in the gallery and those sitting on the panel up ahead, _I can't believe I let myself get captured by these dull and unimaginative bureaucrats! As if_ any _of them were anywhere_ near _fit to pass judgment on me!_

She was aboard the _Discovery_ , the chief vessel of the Galactic Institution of Science. A body that operated independently from, although sometimes in cooperation with, the Empire of Jurai and the Galaxy Police, it was the premiere organization for scientists from every possible field in the known universe. Right now Washu was walking through the mammoth vessel's Hall of Justice, where the GIS meted out sentences against those that violated its edicts. Judgments rendered by the seven judges, or GIS Justices, were as legally binding as those made by both the Empire of Jurai and the Galaxy Police, and in fact the GIS court shared many of the same legal procedures and protocols as those two organizations.

Washu had nothing but disdain for the Hall of Justice and the judges that presided over it. They were supposed to act to make sure that the wider galaxy was made safe from any potentially dangerous discoveries made by members of the GIS, but as far as Washu was concerned they existed only to hold back the organization's greatest minds, chief among them hers. There was also the open secret that members of the court were in the pockets of both the Empire of Jurai and the Galaxy Police, so Washu could hardly consider them to be worthy arbiters for a body that was supposed to be independent of those groups.

 _A panel of senile geezers long past their prime_ , she thought with derision as she stepped up to the podium, _A pompous group of buffoons concerned more with archaic procedure and their own power rather than the advancement of science. This is a complete farce!_

At least the view was nice. The backdrop for the seven GIS Justices was a window, so Washu had a clear view of the stars outside. Those would be infinitely preferable to stare at when compared to the old windbags on the panel.

The wrinkled face and beady black eyes of High Justice Plutarchus, head of the panel and chief of the Hall of Justice, looked down at her with barely veiled contempt. Washu was more than willing to return the sentiment; the ancient and arthritic windbag symbolized everything that she hated about the GIS court. His crooked hand grasped a gavel, and after a few seconds he banged it on the panel.

"This session of the Hall of Justice is called to order!" he yelled, his voice surprisingly deep given his decrepit appearance, "All members of the gallery, be seated!"

There was some rustling in the background as the audience obeyed the order, but Washu paid them no mind. She kept her attention on the seven members of the panel, evaluating each justice and looking for signs of weakness. Unfortunately they were all seasoned judicials; their stone faces gave away little of value.

 _Come on, you fossils_ , she thought, _let's have at it already. We all know that this is more of a sentencing hearing than an actual trial; the Empire will have seen to that. Raise your curtain and let's get this opera of the absurd over with!_

As if sensing her unspoken insults, Plutarchus gave her a nod. "The defendant shall state her name and position for the record of the court."

Washu smirked. "Why bother? You'd have to be a rock not to know who I am."

"Name and position for the record of the court," Plutarchus reiterated.

Washu rolled her eyes; the old sack of skin and bones would likely keep this up until he keeled over and died, and as amusing as that might be she had little interest in prolonging this piece of political theater. "Dr. Washu Hakubi, Professor Premier of the Galactic Institution of Science."

Plutarchus nodded. "And where is your defense counsel?"

"Counsel was declined," said Washu, "as it was throughout this ridiculous process. I'm quite capable of defending myself, whether it's in a legitimate court or this vapid melodrama you've cooked up."

"Mind your tongue!" shrieked Emmirrial, the sole female Justice, "If your insolence continues you will be held in contempt of this court!"

 _Ugh_ , she thought with disgust, _You mean I'm not already? I've got nothing but contempt for this court, so I see no issue with the favor being returned._

"Do you know why you have been called before this court today?" said Justice Autarchus.

"Not a clue," she replied dryly.

"Your research has long pushed the envelope of what this Institution has found to be acceptable for its members," said High Justice Plutarchus, "but you have also brought great accolades and honor to us, so it was tolerated."

 _By 'accolades and honor' what you really mean is fame and funding_ , she thought, _That's why I could get a blank check from the Budget Committee; my research made the Empire open its coffers to the GIS in hopes that other scientists would provide for them what I did. They got some of what they wanted, but nothing on the scale or of comparable brilliance to what_ I _created!_

"Your weapons research was sanctioned by the Empire during the civil war," said Autarchus, "However, once the Emperor ceased his commissions your understanding with both the Empire and this Institution was quite clear; you were to scale back your armaments projects. This you completely failed to do."

"Torpedoes that could destabilize the cores of suns and cause them to go supernova!" rattled off Emmirrial, "Airburst charges that could disintegrate atmospheres! A mobile battle station capable of rendering planets asunder! Orbital satellite networks designed to cloak worlds in shadow! Does your desire for destruction know no bounds?"

Washu smirked. "Spare me the list of toys, Emmirrial. We all know that they're not what your panel and your backers in the Empire are _really_ after. Those are petty gimmicks when compared to what the Emperor had me build to end the Imperial Civil War. _That_ is what this trial's about; Jurai wouldn't have put you old relics up to this otherwise!"

"Insolent wretch!" Emmirrial shrieked, "I move to hold Dr. Hakubi in contempt of court!"

"Aye," said Autarchus.

The other justices made their approval known, but the High Justice did not confirm the decision. Instead his eyes simply narrowed.

"Since you seem so dead set on dispensing with formality and protocol, Dr. Hakubi," said Plutarchus, "I see no reason to dance around with normal court procedure when it will take mere moments to cut to the heart of this matter."

"Finally," said Washu, faking a yawn, "I thought you were going to bore me to death."

The High Justice pointedly ignored her disdain. "This panel was convened because the most dangerous of all your weapons, the single deadliest creation in the entire universe, has gone _missing_."

Washu smiled. "You don't say. Hard to imagine how the Empire lost something _that_ big."

"Do not play dumb with this panel," Autarchus growled, "We know full well that it was _you_ who spirited the weapon away! Think long and hard about your response to this charge, Dr. Hakubi. Your very future is at stake here!"

"Shocker," replied Washu casually.

"Silence!" yelled Emmirrial, "Tell us where your fiendish creation is!"

"That would contradict the 'silence' part," Washu quipped.

"Enough of your childish snark!" snarled the High Justice, barely contained fury lighting up his eyes, "You will have one chance to answer this question truthfully, and by doing so _perhaps_ retain some position at this Institution!"

Washu rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what was coming but deciding to play along. "Fine. Ask away."

"Where is the Gate Of The Arbiters?" asked Plutarchus, " _Where is the key to the Judgment Array?_ "

Washu grinned. "I don't remember."

"Now is not the time for one of your games!" yelled Autarchus.

"I'm being completely serious," Washu replied, "I erased key bits of information about the Gate from my memory, including where I hid it. Feel free to do a scan of my brain if you want to confirm it."

"Medical!" shouted Emmirrial, "Bring a neural scanner droid in here at once!"

A few seconds later a man in a white coat approached the podium, a spherical black robot floating next to him. The machine got right in Washu's face, and a ray of blue light emanated from the round scanner located on the front of it.

 _I hate these things_ , thought Washu as she squinted, _Too damn bright._

A moment later the automaton turned to the doctor that had accompanied it. "Subject shows significant alterations within the memory centers of her brain."

Washu chuckled as she looked up at the panel. "Told you."

The High Justice looked like he was about to burst several blood vessels. The gavel was quivering in his hand, and Washu thought he might go right into a seizure.

"You insane little wretch!" he snarled, "Do you have any idea what you've done? The key to the most powerful weapon in the entire universe… and you sabotaged your ability and by extension that of anyone else to _find it_?"

"Oh, I know _exactly_ what I've done," Washu replied triumphantly, "You can tell your masters in the Empire that they'll _never_ be able to access my masterpiece. They'll just have to make do with their fleet."

"Enough of your impertinence!" yelled Emmirrial, "High Justice, this cannot continue!"

Plutarchus took a deep breath to calm himself before nodding at his colleague. "Agreed."

 _I don't suppose they'll just let me off with a slap on the wrist_ , she mused, _Not when the Empire's got a serious hard-on for my masterpiece and I made sure that they'll never be able to use it. This should be interesting._

"Washu Hakubi," said the High Justice, "as we are an enlightened Institution, we do not use the death penalty. Therefore, you are henceforth stripped off all titles, and are sentenced to permanent exile…"

 _Oh_ , she thought, _well that's not too bad._

"…while confined to a stasis pod," Plutarchus continued.

Washu's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "Hey! Now wait just a minute!"

"Does the panel agree with the sentence?" the High Justice asked his colleagues, pointedly ignoring Washu.

"Aye," said Autarchus.

"Aye," said Emmirrial, "and good riddance."

The rest of the justices sounded off, all in favor. Plutarchus turned back to Washu, and there was nothing she wanted to do more than wipe the smug smile right off his face.

"The panel is unanimous in regards to the sentence," he said, "It shall be carried out immediately."

"Hold on a second!" Washu yelled, "We can talk about this!"

"I think not," the High Justice replied, almost nonchalantly, "Farewell, Washu Hakubi. Who knows? Perhaps you'll get fortunate and some fool will free you from you confinement in ten thousand years. I highly doubt it, though."

With that he pressed a button on the panel. A translucent green barrier shot up around her, culminating just above her head. Washu felt herself being lifted off the ground, entrapped now in the ovoid stasis pod. There was a grey belt around the middle, with several nubs extending towards her. They sparked with lighting, and Washu knew what was coming.

A blue barrier surrounded the pod and the platform that Washu had been standing on. Its purpose was made clear a moment later as the floor beneath the pod opened up, revealing the void of space.

"No," she said, "No, no, no! You guys can't be serious about this!"

The pod then shot through the hole. Looking up, Washu saw the _Discovery_ quite rapidly fade into the distance. Moments later the lighting coming from the prods inside the pod engulfed her, and her world became black.

 **September 30** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Standing over Heero's infirmary bed, Sally folded her arms and smirked. "What was that you said earlier, Heero? 'A test flight might be fun', I think it was."

Heero sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment. "I hardly think now's the time for jokes, Sally."

Sally laughed. "I don't see why not. The great Heero Yuy, taken down by a living starship's fixation on carrots… you'd better hope I don't tell Duo about this one."

"Blackmail's not your style," said Heero.

Sally shrugged. "Hey, if it works, why not? You don't usually give me this kind of leverage."

 _And you're reminding me why I'm so careful_ , thought Heero, _I still can't believe what happened up there. Why did Sasami have to find that carrot while she was on Ryo-Ohki's screen?_

After Ryo-Ohki's carrot-crazed collision with Sasami's vessel, the two ships had plummeted back to Earth. Fortunately the two vessels hadn't landed in a heavily populated area. As a matter of fact they'd landed right in the middle of the Ardennes forest, not too far from Base Green. Since it was still night and the two ships had come down as one it would be easy for the government to spin the incident as a minor meteor impact, although they would have to work fast to conceal the wreckage from any nature-minded civilians.

Luckily there was really only debris from one ship to clean up. Since Sasami's ship had taken the brunt of the impact, Ryo-Ohki actually hadn't been as badly hurt as she had during the landing in Lake Genval. The living starship had returned to its furry cat-rabbit form, and while she was bruised and battered Ryoko had seemed quite confident that her pet and mode of galactic transportation would soon make a full recovery. Of course, the passengers of both ships had been considerably banged up by the crash, and while no one had suffered life-threatening injuries Sally and Lady Une had insisted that they all be taken to Base Green's infirmary for overnight monitoring.

In the bed to the right of his he saw Ryoko give him a weak smile. "Sorry, Heero. Didn't mean to give her something to use against you like that."

Heero sighed. "It's fine. The flight was my idea anyway, not yours."

"Maybe," said Ryoko, rubbing her knuckle on Ryo-Ohki's head, "but if carrots-for-brains here could handle her urges better we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Meow!" whined Ryo-Ohki.

"Oh, shove it up your ass, furball!" Ryoko scolded, "This is all your fault, fuzz butt!"

In the bed on Heero's left Ayeka folded her arms. "Serves that cretin right!"

"No!" cried Sasami from the bed past Ayeka's, "Ryoko, go easy on her!"

"Poor Ryo-Ohki!" pouted Mihoshi from another bed.

"Don't sympathize with that troublesome, flea-ridden creature!" huffed Ayeka, "She deserves quite the punishment after that fiasco!"

"Hey!" growled Ryoko, "I'll be the one to deal with Ryo-Ohki, so butt out Ayeka!"

Ayeka glared at her. "You dare to give commands to me? I'll make you pay for your impudence, you scoundrel!"

"Bring it on, you royal brat!" yelled Ryoko.

"Please stop fighting!" cried Mihoshi.

"Ayeka, stop it!" cried Sasami, "You can't fight in their infirmary!"

"Oh dear," said Azaka, "I fear there may be no stopping them this time."

"Princess Ayeka can't get so worked up like this!" fretted Kamidake, "It's hazardous for her health!"

Heero sighed before sitting up in the bed and raising his voice. "Enough!"

That was sufficient to quiet everyone down, and Heero knew he had to act while he had their attention. "No one is going to be fighting in here. We're all going to rest up until the medics release us, and then we'll head back to the apartment in Brussels. Is that understood?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes… of course, Sir Heero."

"Fine," grumbled Ryoko, "As long as we get to get out of here."

"Nicely done," said Sally quietly, nodding at Heero, "You really do have a way with these women."

Heero lay back down. "Don't remind me."

Sally smiled. "Rest up, lady killer. You're going to have a full plate in the morning."

"You mean I don't already?" he asked dryly.

"Not even close," said Sally as she left the infirmary.

 _That's great_ , he thought, _I wonder what's going on with her and Lady Une. Well, I guess there's no point in worrying about it now._

He closed his eyes, hoping that he would be able to get some sleep before the night was over. Heero had a feeling he'd need every bit that he could get.

….

"How are things down in the infirmary?" asked Lady Une as her office door closed behind Sally.

Her friend and subordinate shrugged and smiled. "Not too bad, all things considered. Ryoko and Ayeka may want nothing more than to rip each other's hair out, but Heero's got a pretty good handle on them."

Lady Une nodded. "At least he can manage that much."

"I think you're being a little too rough on him," said Sally as she took a seat across from the Director's desk, "It may have been his idea to do that little escort flight with Ryo-Ohki, but there's no way he or anyone else could've seen this mess coming."

Lady Une took a deep breath and slowly let it out before replying. "I know. The truth is he's handled everything quite well over the past month. Still, this is a mess that we need to get cleaned up, and quickly."

"At least they came down in the Ardennes," said Sally, "Plus it was at night and in the middle of the rain. Crews are already removing debris, and the area's been cordoned off. It's not ideal, but things could be a lot worse."

"What about Ryo-Ohki?" asked Lady Une, "How did she look down in the infirmary?"

"Hard to tell since I've never seen anything like her before," said Sally, "but considering she didn't go into hibernation like last time I think it's safe to say that she's all right, if a bit banged up."

Lady Une sighed. "Any chance of us using her to get the girls home?"

Sally shook her head. "Doubt it. She belongs to Ryoko, and from what I've gathered she's not particularly in a hurry to leave Earth. I doubt she'll give Ayeka and the others a ride home either."

"I see," said Lady Une, "So we're back at square one… perhaps worse."

Sally nodded. "Heero agreed to host Sasami along with the others because it was just for two weeks, but now it's looking like she'll be sticking around for quite awhile, along with the rest of the girls. Heero's apartment just isn't practical to really continue on like this."

"I agree," said Lady Une, "I've been giving the matter some thought, and I believe one of our safe houses should be used from here on out."

Sally smiled. "Sounds good. Any particular candidates in mind?"

Lady Une nodded. "One, yes. The house is nice; a three story residence. It's in a rural area, so civilian exposure is greatly reduced, and it's practically on the other side of the planet from the capital."

"Sounds like we've got a winner," said Sally, "How long do you think it will take to prep?"

Lady Une smiled. "Not long at all. The place is already furnished; all I'll have to do is send in a crew to sweep up the dust."

Sally smirked. "When do we drop the bombshell on Heero?"

"Give it a few days," Lady Une replied, "We should wait until he's fully healed until we have him move across half the planet."

"That won't take long," said Sally, "You know how fast he gets back on his feet."

"One of the many qualities that make him such a good operative," said Lady Une, "A little time in the country will do him some good, I think. Then again, given his houseguests, he may not have much time to relax out there."

Sally chuckled. "That's the understatement of the year. Do you need anything else from me?"

"Just keep that debris cordoned off until the cleanup's done," said Lady Une, "We've been pretty damn lucky with this whole alien business so far, all things considered. Let's not screw it up."

Sally nodded. "You got it!"

….

 **October 4** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"Japan?" asked Heero.

He was standing in Lady Une's office at Preventers HQ. It had been a few days since he and the others had returned to his apartment in Brussels, and much to Heero's relief his four female guests had been far too worn out by the crash to cause any trouble. Everyone had been focused on recovering from their various bumps and bruises, giving Heero some much needed peace and quiet until Lady Une had summoned him today.

Lady Une was sitting behind her desk, and standing behind her and too the right was Sally. The two women appeared to be at ease, although there was a look in Sally's eyes that Heero did not trust one bit.

The Preventers director nodded. "Yes. I've been giving the matter some thought and have spoken with Sally about it. We both agree that remaining at your apartment in the capital is no longer feasible given that your guests will now be staying for far longer than originally anticipated."

"I'll admit it's a little crowded," said Heero, "but it's nothing that I can't handle. I've had worse living situations, you know."

"I appreciate your resilience, Heero," said Sally, "but you don't need to act tough. It's too damn crowded at your place now. You need a little more space."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Why am I assuming that 'more space' is just an excuse to get me and my guests as far away from the capital as possible?"

"If we were doing that," said Sally with a smirk, "we'd send you to the moon. Or Mars."

"You know what I mean," said Heero.

Lady Une sighed. "I won't lie that it will be easier on us if you and your guests aren't close to the capital or any major metropolitan area for that matter. Don't take this the wrong way, Heero; you've handled those women remarkably well, especially considering what they're capable of. However, the fact of the matter is that we've been incredibly lucky over the past month that we've still been able to keep the public out of the loop. If these women continue to stay in the capital then our luck will eventually run out."

Heero nodded. "I understand. When do we leave?"

"Two days from now," said Sally, "Most of the prep work has already been completed. The house is already furnished too, so you'll really only have to worry about packing personal items. We'll keep your apartment maintained until the time comes that you're able to return to it."

"Thanks," said Heero, "Do I at least get to see what our new home looks like?"

Lady Une smiled and passed him a file across her desk. "Yes, and I think you'll like it."

Heero opened up the file and browsed the photos before nodding. "Looks like a good setup. Exposure risks will definitely be reduced."

Sally smiled. "I thought you'd approve. There's a small town not too far away, so that'll cover your basic supply needs, and from there you can always catch a train into one of the larger cities if you have to."

Heero continued to browse through the file, with one item catching his eye. "What about the neighbor? That could be a problem."

Lady Une shook her head. "Hardly. He lives at the Shinto shrine, which is still a decent distance from the house. We've done background work on him too, just to be safe. The priest is of no concern."

"You should check out the shrine," said Sally, "It's pretty nice."

"If you say so," said Heero, "Is there anything else that I should be aware of?"

"Nope," said Lady Une with a smile, "I think we've covered everything here. Get back to your place and make sure the girls are ready for the big move."

"Good luck," said Sally with a smirk, "Make sure you and the girls rest up; you've got an early flight."

….

 **October 6** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Putting her hands on her hips and smiling, Ryoko whistled as she took in the building that was now their new home. "Wow! Nice place!"

"It's so big!" said Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her perch atop Sasami's head.

"Quite impressive," said Ayeka.

"Yay!" cried Mihoshi, "We'll have so much more room now!"

"More space will be nice," said Azaka.

"Indeed," said Kamidake, "No offense, Sir Heero, but your previous residence was getting rather cramped."

"None taken," said Heero, and Ryoko saw him give their new home an approving nod, "This is definitely a step up from the apartment."

 _You can say that again_ , thought Ryoko, _Man, I can't wait to check out the inside!_

When Heero had told Ryoko and the others that they were moving to a safe house out in the country, Ryoko had expected a small, rundown residence. As crowded as the apartment had gotten, at least it was a high-end residence with all the accommodations Ryoko needed for a comfortable stay on Earth. However, she had to admit that this new place had not only defied her expectations but appeared, at least at first glance, to be a considerable improvement from Heero's apartment.

From what little Ryoko understood about Earth architecture, the three story dwelling before her was a pleasing mix of traditional and modern construction. Its crimson roof was built with the same kind of tiles that Ryoko had spotted on the tops of temples during the trip out here. It sloped far down the front to the right over the main entrance but then receded sharply about a third of the way to the left in a kind of reverse-step pattern, with a set of three windows installed overlooking what Ryoko assumed was the third story bathroom. The walls and foundations appeared quite sturdy and with a creamy color that was a nice contrast to the roof. Large windows dominated the bottom floor and much of the middle one, with the lower ones overlooking a long wooden patio that wrapped around almost half the house in a right angle. A small shed was built along the right wall, and there was a patch of soil off to the side that was clearly meant for gardening even though nothing was currently growing there.

The surrounding landscape was nothing to sneeze at either. It was up in the mountains so it was a little chillier than Brussels had been, but it looked so nice that Ryoko was more than willing to forgive that flaw. A thick forest covered the slopes and hills and promised to be very useful if another game of hide-and-seek took place. The trees were a riot of red, yellow, and orange now that fall was in full swing, and they only served to enhance the area's beauty in the late afternoon sun. There was a small lake in front of the house, with a series of stepping stones leading out to an island with a large tree in the middle of it. For a moment Ryoko had thought that it was a Jurai tree, but she had swiftly dispelled that notion from her mind; Ayeka and Sasami were the only Jurai natives out here, and their ships hadn't landed anywhere near this place. Around the side of the lake, just a brief walk from the house, was the beginning of a long stone staircase that Ryoko assumed led to the Shinto shrine that Heero had mentioned on the flight out to this island region.

 _Normally the country's not my idea of a fun place to hang out_ , she mused as she took in the scenery before looking over at Heero, _but if I get to stay with hotshot over here then I think I can adapt!_

Hefting two duffle bags over his shoulders, Heero led the way towards the front door. "Come on, let's get inside and unpack."

Ryoko grinned. "Right behind you!"

She could've just zipped ahead and phased right through a wall or the door, but that would've ruined the fun. So Ryoko stuck with the group as Heero dropped one of his bags before unlocking the front door.

"Our new home," he said as he picked the bag back up and stepped inside.

"Whoa!" said Mihoshi as the rest of the group followed him in.

The entrance way was a nice foyer with a wooden floor that had clearly been recently cleaned. A storage closet was to the right, and past that were the stairs leading up to the second floor, while at the end of the hall was a bathroom. Moving ahead of the group, Ryoko found a spacious room to the left that appeared to combine both a living room and a dining room. There was a right-angle couch much like the one at Heero's apartment in Brussels, albeit larger. A low and broad table was set in front of it on the large tatami mat, and set up on a steel shelf was a flat screen television. The kitchen was to the right of the large living room while the windows gave a great view of the small lake and the surrounding hills. Off to the left of the kitchen and the upper part of the living room was a smaller room that looked like a study of some kind.

"Be right back guys," she said as she floated off the floor, "I'm going to check out the upstairs!"

"Ryoko!" huffed Ayeka, "Come back here and help us carry these bags!"

Ryoko smirked as she phased through the ceiling and into the second floor. Looking around, she quickly found three bedrooms, a storage closet in the hall, and a full bathroom as opposed to the smaller one on the first floor. The bedrooms were all decently sized and already set up with bedrolls laid out on tatami mats, and while Ryoko wouldn't mind taking one of them as her own she would also be quite fine with the couch downstairs.

A smaller staircase led up to the third floor. Here Ryoko found another bedroom, one slightly larger than the ones below and with an actual bed, and that was the one she assumed Heero would take. There was another bathroom up here as well, fully equipped with a combined bath and shower. Rounding things out were another closet and what looked like a small storage room.

 _Sweet setup_ , she thought as she phased back through the floor to the second story, _I could get used to this!_

"Ryoko!" she heard Mihoshi call.

"We need some help!" cried Sasami.

Ryoko sighed. "Fine, I'm coming."

Phasing through the floor to the first story, Ryoko smiled as she saw the others trying to deal with all their bags. "What's taking you so long? I've already explored the whole house!"

"Just grab a bag," said Heero as he headed up the stairs.

Ryoko quickly found her bag and followed the others upstairs. She made a break for the largest of the three bedrooms on the second floor and triumphantly smiled as she dropped her bag down on the bedroll.

"Dibs!" she yelled.

Going back into the hallway, she saw that Ayeka and Sasami had laid claim to a room, while Mihoshi had taken the third. Heero was nowhere in sight; he'd probably gone up to the third floor already.

Ayeka yawned. "Goodness, how long have we been up? Did the flight from the capital have to be so _early_?"

"Cheer up, Ayeka!" said Sasami, "We made it to our new home! We'll be able to rest real soon."

"Meow…" said Ryo-Ohki slowly, looking like she wanted nothing more than to hit the hay.

 _That does sound nice_ , she thought, _We've been up since before the ass-crack of dawn. Still, I'm too excited to sleep now. I want to look around some more!_

Wandering over to Mihoshi's room, she saw that the space cop didn't share her enthusiasm. The blonde officer was already face down on her bedroll and drooling on her pillow.

Ryoko grinned as she crept forward, a ball of crimson energy appearing in her hand. Kneeling down next to Mihoshi, Ryoko detonated the red orb like a firecracker right by the cop's ear, causing her to leap up like a cannonball.

"Attack!" she cried as she fell back to the floor with all the grace of a drunken dog.

Ryoko chuckled. "Not this time, sleepyhead."

"Ryoko!" Mihoshi pouted, "That was mean!"

"You can snooze later," said Ryoko as she left the room and headed upstairs.

It didn't take her long to find Heero in the third floor bedroom unpacking his bag. Smirking, Ryoko crept up behind him and put her hands over his eyes while pressing herself up against his back.

"Guess who?" she said playfully.

"Shouldn't you be unpacking, Ryoko?" asked Heero, not sounding the least bit surprised.

"Nah," said Ryoko as she let him go, "I can do that later! It's not like I've got all that much anyway."

"Fine," said Heero as he put some jeans in one of the nearby dresser drawers, "Just don't expect any of us to do your unpacking for you."

Ryoko sighed. "All right, you've made your point."

Heero nodded. "Good."

Ryoko stood off to the side to let him unpack for a few more minutes before she spoke again. "So, when do we get to explore this place?"

"I know the house is bigger than the apartment," said Heero, "but it's not _that_ big."

"I didn't mean the _house_ ," said Ryoko, "I meant the rest of the area. I bet you and I could have some real fun back in those trees!"

"Don't let Ayeka hear you say that," Heero replied as he put some more clothes away, "I don't need you two getting into another fight, at least not until I've had a bit of sleep."

Ryoko smirked. "Hey, she's the one that's so high strung, not me. If she would just chill out a bit then we wouldn't fight so much."

"You're not blameless, you know," said Heero.

Ryoko folded her arms and pouted. "Heero, how could you say that? I thought you were on my side!"

"I'm just trying to keep the peace," he said, "and my sanity. Things might be easier out here than back in the capital, but I still have to keep an eye on you and the others. There are people not too far away from here, and I don't want them finding out about your powers."

"Would it really be that big of a deal?" she asked as she sat down on the bed next to his duffel bag.

Heero sighed. "I know it doesn't feel like it would be to you, but you don't know humanity very well. While plenty of people have wondered if we're not alone in the universe, there are others who believe that Earth is special and it the only planet in the universe that harbors life."

"Sounds pretty stupid and arrogant if you ask me," said Ryoko, "I mean, your planet's a bit primitive, but with your level of technology you at least have to have some idea about just how big the universe is. It's pretty vain for humans to think that they're the only intelligent life in the galaxy."

"I agree," said Heero, "and so do plenty of people in the government, which is why contingency plans were drawn up in the event that we made contact with beings from beyond the Sol system. However, the manner in which you and Ayeka arrived wasn't really in line with what we had imagined, and the same goes for Mihoshi and Sasami."

Ryoko smirked. "No surprise there. You'd have a hard time predicting _me_ , Heero."

She was pleasantly surprised to see him chuckle. "I can't argue with that."

Ryoko lay back on the bed while he continued to unpack. "So that's why you need to keep us secret? Just because of human pride?"

Heero shook us. "Not pride; fear."

"Come on," said Ryoko, "It's not like I'm _that_ scary. Well, at least when I'm not mad."

"That's not it," Heero replied, "To be honest, I think that if most people on this planet or in the colonies had a chance to meet you and the others any fears that they did have would dissipate. None of you pose a threat to us, and you're all good people."

"Even me?" asked Ryoko with a smirk, "You do remember what I am, right Heero?"

Heero nodded. "Yes, and I also know that if you were going to cause trouble for this planet you would've stirred up some mayhem long before now. Besides, I know that there's more to you that just a pirate."

Ryoko was surprised to feel herself blushing; the sincerity in his words had caught her completely off guard. "Well… maybe, but don't go thinking that I'm an angel now just because I told you about my past."

Her eyes widened slightly as she saw Heero give her a small smirk. "Roger that."

Ryoko didn't know why, but she was actually finding herself to be a bit flustered, and hurried to get the conversation back to where it had been earlier. "So you don't think most people would be scared of me or the others if they got the chance to get to know us, then? If that's the case then why did you bring up fear?"

"Because it's not the fear of normal people that I think would cause problems," said Heero, "It's the fear of certain groups that give me cause for concern."

"You're losing me," said Ryoko.

Heero looked down in thought for a moment before turning to her again. "What's your experience with religion?"

Ryoko raised an eyebrow, taken aback by that line of questioning but deciding to play along. "Not really my thing, so I don't really bother with it unless there's an artifact I can steal from some temple or shrine and make some cash. You?"

"The same, minus the stealing," Heero replied, "However, there are some that don't have the same… _relaxed_ outlook that you and I do. The majority of people who adhere to one faith or another are relatively moderate and open to new ideas, but there are subgroups that lack that flexibility."

"So what?" asked Ryoko, "You're keeping me and the others secret because you don't want these guys to crap their pants?"

Heero shook his head. "It's not that simple. These people can be very dogmatic and rigid. When confronted with a threat to their orthodoxy, their reactions can be unpredictable, even dangerous. There are fundamentalist groups who could cause a great deal of damage and suffering given the right provocation. The reveal of intelligent alien life would strike at one of the core tenants of many of these groups; that humans and Earth are unique and special in the eyes of whatever divinity they believe in. They may not be a threat to the likes of you, but they could still hurt or kill a lot of innocent people before they're stopped."

Ryoko smiled. "So what you're really worried about is what nutcases like this could do to others when my existence causes them to flip out. You really are a big softy, aren't you Heero?"

"My job is to protect the peace of this world and the innocent people who live here," Heero said firmly, "The Earth Sphere's seen enough war, and I'm not going to let a bunch of religious fanatics start a new one just because you and the others don't fit in with their interpretation of scripture."

 _What a guy_ , she thought as she looked at him, _I don't usually go for the guardian types, but he's really something else._

Ryoko smirked as she got off the bed and came up behind Heero, putting her arms around him. "Well, if you ever want some help in dealing with these fundamentalist assholes, just let me know. I'll show them what _real_ fear looks like. By the time I'm through with them they'll be worshiping me as the devil herself."

"Tempting," said Heero as he slipped free of her grasp, "but no thanks. Director Une would really let me have it if I brought you in on any of my operations."

"All right," said Ryoko, "but the offer's still on the table."

Heero nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Looking out the window, Ryoko smiled before grabbing Heero by the arm and started pulling him towards the door. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" asked Heero.

"Outside," she said, "We still got a bit of daylight left, and I want to explore a little. You can finish unpacking later."

Heero sighed. "All right. Let's see if the others are up for a little walk."

The two of them went downstairs and stopped by Mihoshi's room. Ryoko wasn't surprised in the least to see the blonde space cop once again snoozing on the bedroll and drooling on her pillow.

"Well, looks like she's out of it," said Ryoko.

Heero nodded. "Let's check on the others."

They went over to Ayeka and Sasami's room and were confronted by the same sight; both sisters were completely asleep. Even Ryo-Ohki was snoozing, curled up comfortably next to Sasami's head on the pillow. Ryoko smiled; now she'd have Heero all to herself.

"No sense in waking them up," she said, "They need the sleep."

"All right," said Heero as he closed their bedroom door, "Let's go."

 _Snooze, you lose, Ayeka_ , Ryoko thought triumphantly as the two of them headed downstairs, _Now I get to have some fun with Heero while you're out like a light!_

"Sir Heero," said Azaka as the two of them passed Ayeka's guardians in the hallway, "where are you going?"

"Sightseeing, apparently," Heero replied.

"What should we do?" asked Kamidake.

"Ayeka and the others are asleep upstairs," said Heero, "Just keep an eye on the place."

"No waking them up," said Ryoko with a mischievous smirk, "They need their sleep, after all."

"Oh, of course," said Azaka.

"That's rather thoughtful of you," said Kamidake, "I'm sure Princess Ayeka will appreciate your consideration!"

 _Like hell she will_ , Ryoko thought wryly, _Not when she finds out that I got some alone time with Heero while she was asleep!_

As they stepped out the front door a cool breeze hit them, and Ryoko smiled. Her eyes immediately went towards the stone staircase around the edge of the lake, and she started pulling Heero towards it.

"Come on!" she said, "Let's go check out that shrine you were telling us about!"

"Okay," Heero replied.

Ryoko wasted no time in looping her arm through Heero's, grinning at the thought of just how angry Ayeka would be if she could see her now. She was expecting Heero to fight her, but to her pleasant surprise he made no move to separate himself from her. He still looked as collected and cool as ever, but Ryoko still got a rather relaxed vibe from him, like he had simply allowed himself to go along with the flow to wherever it might lead.

"Whoa," said Ryoko as they got to the base of the stone staircase, "This is… a little bigger than I thought it would."

The staircase wasn't just one long, straight path with an obvious end. It went up to a rest area and then turned to the left out of sight behind a group of trees. From the way the hills looked Ryoko realized that there were probably several twists and turns before it arrived at its final destination.

"You can always put it off until tomorrow," said Heero, "although it's odd that you'd be intimidated by something as small as a flight of stairs."

Ryoko smirked at him, enjoying the challenge. "Hah! Not a chance!"

Heero nodded. "All right. Let's get going."

The two of them started up the stairs. It would've been easy for Ryoko to pick Heero up and fly the two of them over to the shrine, but why rush things? The fact that he still hadn't moved to free himself of her arm was a good sign, and Ryoko wanted to savor this while it lasted.

"Man," she said, "This must've been a pain in the ass to build."

"I checked some information on it before we flew out here," said Heero, "Apparently this staircase and the shrine at the end are around 700 years old. They didn't have any of the advanced construction equipment and techniques back then that we enjoy now."

"Sounds like a drag," said Ryoko as they continued their climb, "Manual labor's really not my thing."

Heero chuckled. "So I've noticed."

"Hey!" said Ryoko, "I'm a beautiful woman, Heero! You don't expect me to do heavy lifting, do you?"

"I might not, normally," said Heero calmly, "but I know what you're really capable of."

Ryoko smirked. "Oh, you only _think_ you know what I can do, hotshot. I can lift a lot more than just you and Ayeka, you know."

"I'm sure," Heero replied, "and I'd rather you not demonstrate that right now."

"Fine," said Ryoko, "I'll save that secret for another time."

Their climb went on, and as they made their way up the stairs Ryoko admired the scenery. The sun was slowly making its way down, and the shifting light seemed to set the surrounding trees ablaze with color. Birds cawed as late afternoon gradually shifted to early evening, insects buzzed, a few frogs croaked… the entire area was just so _alive_.

"You know," said Ryoko after a moment, "I just realized something."

"What's that?" asked Heero.

Ryoko grinned. "Now that we're out of the city I don't have to worry as much about what I'm going to wear. I can stick with my regular clothes now. Don't get me wrong, the stuff that you bought me is great, but I'm a lot more comfortable in what I normally wear."

Not that she was uncomfortable in what she was wearing now. Her white button-up shirt and black skirt was a favorite outfit for her, especially since it gave her the option of undoing a few buttons to give Heero an enticing view, which she always did. Still, her tunic and leggings were so much more familiar for her, so getting the chance to wear those regularly again would be nice.

Heero nodded. "That's fine, but if we end up going into town or somewhere else with a lot of people you might need to change clothes."

"I know," said Ryoko, "No worries; thanks to you I've got plenty to choose from!"

"Yes," said Heero, "you and the others."

Their climbed continued, and Ryoko started wondering if they'd ever reach the end of the path. Before too long though she saw the staircase seemed to reach its peak a little bit up ahead.

"Ah," she said as they neared the top, "finally."

"It's not that much of a climb," said Heero.

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Ryoko.

They reached the top, and Ryoko saw a rather large dirt clearing. A path made up of neatly laid stone tiles lead up to what she assumed to be the shrine that Heero had mentioned earlier. It was a wooden building, and the style struck Ryoko as very similar to architecture that she'd seen in the Empire of Jurai. There was a staircase leading up to a deck that looked to run around the entirety of the main building and a large entrance that led into structure. There was an ornate wooden carving above the entrance that looked like two dragons, while the slanted roof had purple ceramic tiling. At the back of the shrine was a walkway that branched out to the left and led towards another equally old building which Ryoko assumed to be the shrine keeper's residence. A wooden fence with stone foundations ran around the entire complex, although it would hardly be much of a deterrent to any intruder.

Off to the right there was an opening in the fence that led to a cave entrance. Two rows of stone lanterns marked a pathway of sorts to the cave, and a wooden sign was posted near the front. A red wooden decorative archway stood just before the cave entrance, the legs of which had rope tied around them with tassels hanging off.

"Not bad," said Ryoko, "Pretty scenic."

Heero nodded, and Ryoko saw him look around. "I wonder where the priest is at."

Ryoko shrugged. "Maybe he's inside. Come on, let's check it out."

She dragged him forward, but before they could get further than a meter she saw a shadow move in the temple's main entrance. A second later a man immerged that Ryoko assumed to be the shrine keeper. He appeared to be a middle aged man, with long grey hair tied in a ponytail. Ryoko assumed that his white robes were the traditional attire of a priest, and like the temple itself she was a bit struck by the resemblance they bore to what she'd occasionally seen in the Empire of Jurai. His glasses put emphasis on his brown eyes, which despite his age still seemed to be quite sharp. Capping it all off was a grey mustache, a bit thick but not overly exaggerated.

The old man smiled at Ryoko and Heero. "Ah, welcome. It's been a while since this sleepy old shrine's had any guests."

"Yeah, well, we're not here for praying," said Ryoko.

"We don't have any offerings," said Heero as he freed himself from Ryoko's arm, "I'm sorry."

The shrine keeper shook his head. "There's no need to trouble yourselves about such things. Just having visitors is nice."

"We actually just moved to the area," said Heero, "We've taken up residence in the house beside the lake."

"I see," said the old man, "I was wondering what all the activity down there a few days about was about. They must've been prepping the place for your arrival."

"Sounds about right," said Heero.

"So," said Ryoko, "you got a name, old man?"

The priest chuckled. "Oh, sorry young lady, it seems I've quite forgotten myself. My name is Katsuhito Masaki. I am the keeper of the Masaki shrine."

"Nice to meet you," said the Preventers operative as the two men shook hands, "I'm Heero Yuy."

The space pirate offered hers. "Ryoko. So, you keep this place clean? That's gotta be dull."

Katsuhito smiled as he shook her hand. "Perhaps to one better suited for city life, but I find it to be quite relaxing. My days of youthful troublemaking are well behind me. A peaceful life up here in the hills is quite nice."

"You seem to have done all right for yourself," said Heero as he nodded at the shrine keeper's home.

The priest followed Heero's gaze before shaking his hand. "Oh, it's quite a modest home. Still, it has all the comforts one such as myself requires."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Sounds nice, but I'll pass on a tour."

"We won't keep anymore of your time," said Heero.

"Nonsense," said Katsuhito, "Having visitors is quite refreshing. It's quite all right if you stay awhile!"

"And do what?" asked Ryoko, "No offense, old man, but I doubt you've got much up here to entertain guests with."

Katsuhito chuckled. "Oh, you might be surprised."

He then turned to Heero, and to Ryoko it looked like the old man was studying him for a moment before he spoke. "You seem like a spry young man. Care to join me for a little sparring?"

"Sparring?" asked Heero, looking a bit taken aback.

Ryoko chuckled. "You can't seriously be considering fighting Heero, right old man? Hey, maybe you had some moves back in the day, but you're kidding yourself if you think you can tangle with a badass like hotshot here."

Katsuhito smirked. "Is that so, young lady?"

Ryoko put her arm around Heero and grinned. "You'd better believe it!"

"Ryoko…" said Heero.

Katsuhito chuckled. "Well, then this should be interesting! Wait right here."

As the priest headed towards his home Heero turned to Ryoko. "I didn't come here just so I could pick a fight with the local shrine keeper."

"Hey," Ryoko replied, "he's the one that invited you to spar. I just told him what he'd be getting himself into. It's not my fault he ignored my advice."

"The way you give advice leaves much to be desired," Heero deadpanned, "That sounded a lot more like a challenge than a helpful word of warning."

"Oh, come on," said Ryoko with a smile, "Don't be like that! I wasn't kidding when I said that you were a badass, you know? You can take this guy!"

"That depends on what sort of 'sparring' he has in mind," said Heero as he folded his arms, "and I never agreed to do this, you know."

"Hey, the gauntlet's been thrown down," said Ryoko, "You can't back out now."

Heero sighed. "I wish I didn't agree with you."

"Relax, Heero" said Ryoko as she playfully messed with his thick brown hair, "it'll be fun! After how long that damn flight was I'd say you could use the chance to loosen up a bit."

"This isn't exactly my idea of loosening up," Heero replied as he gently but firmly shoved her hand aside.

"Well, then you'll just have to adapt," said Ryoko, "Oh, here he comes!"

The old man had just left his home, and Ryoko was surprised to see that he was carrying what looked to be two wooden swords.

" _Bokken_ ," she heard Heero say softly, "I wasn't expecting this."

"You can handle yourself in a swordfight, right?" asked Ryoko, trying not to sound worried.

She was a little taken aback when she saw Heero chuckle. "You'll just have to wait and see."

As the shrine keeper approached he tossed one of the wooden swords at Heero. "Does this work for you?"

Heero nodded as he effortlessly snatched the _bokken_ out of the air. "It's fine."

Katsuhito smiled. "Good. It's been quite awhile since I've had someone to spar against."

Ryoko patted Heero on the shoulder. "Go get him, Heero!"

Before he could answer she went around him and the old man towards the steps of the temple where she took a seat. She saw Heero briefly shake his head before taking up position across from the shrine keeper, the wooden sword in his right hand.

"So," said Heero, "how do you want to do this?"

"No need to make things complicated," Katsuhito replied, "First one to land a hit wins."

Heero nodded. "Sounds good."

Ryoko watched as the old man raised his _bokken_ in a two handed grip. She was no expert, but his stance seemed quite solid, and there was a quiet intensity in the shrine keeper's eyes. Ryoko hoped that she hadn't gotten Heero in over his head.

Looking over at her host, she saw that the young man was likewise holding his weapon in both hands now. Heero didn't seem to be intimidated by Katsuhito, but the way his eyes had narrowed seemed to indicate that he was carefully evaluating his opponent.

"Well, Ryoko," said Katsuhito, "why don't you tell us when to start?"

She looked over at Heero, who gave her a nod. "Ready when you are."

Ryoko smiled and raised her right hand. "All right! Ready?"

The two men looked gazes, looking ready to leap into action at a moment's notice.

Ryoko brought her hand down hard. "Fight!"

She was surprised to see Katsuhito kick things off. The old man moved with startling speed, and he rushed forward with his sword raised. He brought the _bokken_ down hard and fast, but Heero had his weapon at the ready and was able to block the shrine keeper's opening strike. Bracing himself and absorbing the blow, Heero quickly pushed off his left foot and countered with a swift diagonal slash.

Katsuhito's sword seemed to move with a mind of its own as the old man instantly intercepted Heero's strike. The shrine keeper bent his _bokken_ to bleed off some of the force from Heero's blow before striking back with a thrust. Heero smoothly sidestepped while redirecting the priest's wooden sword with his. The Preventers operative wasted no time in making another attack of his own, this time a horizontal slash.

 _Okay_ , thought Ryoko as she saw Katsuhito parry the blow, _Looks like the old man has some moves. Then again, so does Heero._

The shrine keeper was clearly no amateur. As he continued to trade attack and counterattack with Heero he always kept his footing. His moves were smooth and precise, almost seamlessly alternating between offense and defense.

For his part, Heero seemed to lack some of the form and polish of the priest, but he more than made up for that with a tight, efficient defense and a punishing offense. As Katsuhito went on the attack Ryoko's host would bring the _bokken_ in close to his body, intercepting the shrine keeper's strikes while exerting as little energy as possible. The moment an opening presented itself he would lunge forward with a hard counterattack, and despite the old man's skill Ryoko thought she saw a hint of surprise in the old man's eyes as he worked to fend off Heero's attacks.

As Heero brought his _bokken_ down in a powerful overhand strike Ryoko saw Katsuhito take a step back and angle his wooden sword down towards the ground. By shifting his grip and the direction of the blade ever so slightly he was able to deflect Heero's attack while reducing the amount of energy he spent on blocking. The old man then smoothly transitioned into a counter, and Heero was barely able to bring his weapon up to block the priest's slash.

Rather than immediately counter like before, Heero surprised Ryoko by breaking off. Katsuhito likewise moved back a bit, and to Ryoko it looked like the two fighters were taking a moment to reevaluate each other.

 _Too bad Ayeka and the others are snoozing_ , she thought, _They're missing a great show!_

"Go, Heero!" she yelled, "Kick his ass!"

The two men shared a brief nod, and a second later Katsuhito rushed forward. The shrine keeper launched a swift assault, raining blows down on Heero at an impressive speed considering his age. Ryoko thought for a moment that Heero might be in trouble, but even as the young man fell back under the barrage she realized that his was a very controlled withdrawal. He weaved a tight defensive cocoon around his body with his _bokken_ , and he didn't look the least bit afraid as he protected himself from the priest's sequence of strikes.

As the old man brought his weapon down in another overhand blow, Heero sudden countered by meeting his wooden sword halfway with his own. Disrupting the momentum of the priest's strike, Heero then brought his _bokken_ down to try to strike the shrine keeper across the chest. Katsuhito managed to pull back and deflect the blow, but it was a very close thing.

The old man smirked. "Impressive. You're not bad, young man."

"Same goes for you," said Heero.

The old man chuckled as he went back on the offensive. This time he made a series of quick thrusts and jabs, all designed to keep Heero off balance. Ryoko watched as Heero fell back again, swatting aside the attacks before responding with a swift thrust of his own. For a moment Ryoko though his strike would hit Katsuhito right in the gut, but at the last moment the old man caught it with his _bokken_ and redirected the blow, causing Heero to move right past him.

The shrine keeper then whirled around with impressive speed. Heero ducked under the slash and rolled to the side to put some distance between himself and the priest. The Preventers agent rose to his feet, but he barely had time to bring his _bokken_ up before Katsuhito was upon him, raining down another sequence of swift overhand strikes. After a few moments Heero managed to take one of the priest's strikes and redirect it away from him and down towards the ground, giving him the opening he needed to launch a counterattack.

Now it was Katsuhito that fell back as Heero rained down powerful vertical strikes on him. The young man may have had been a bit on the slim side, but the strength he was able to put behind his attacks was nothing to sneeze at. Ryoko could see the shrine keeper's brow furrow in concentration as he worked to fend off Heero's furious assault.

 _Wow_ , she thought, _I knew that Heero was good in a fight, but I didn't expect anything like this. He's got some moves!_

Her handsome host pressed his assault, never letting up as he continued to force the priest back. While the duel may have turned against him, though, the shrine keeper still seemed quite calm and focused. Ryoko had to admit that the old man had nerve, but it wouldn't do him much good at this rate.

Heero redoubled his efforts, perhaps sensing an opportunity to land the winning blow. Ryoko was confident that Katsuhito would not last much longer. However, as Heero lunged forward for what Ryoko was sure would be the finishing blow the old man suddenly stepped back and pivoted with his right foot. In a move so fluid, swift, and graceful that Ryoko could hardly keep up with it, the priest brought his _bokken_ around through nearly a full circle and hit Heero right in the back.

Ryoko's eyes widened in shock as Heero stumbled forward. For a moment it looked like he would fall, but he managed to stay upright. Lowering his wooden sword, the young man turned around and looked at the shrine keeper that had just bested him. He appeared relatively calm, but Ryoko could still see a hint of surprise in his eyes. Ryoko couldn't fault him for that.

"No way…" she said softly.

A moment passed before Katsuhito chuckled and smiled. "That was quite a match, young man! You really have some talent."

Heero shook his head, and Ryoko was surprised to see a very small smirk appear on his face. "You were toying with me. You could've beaten me in our first exchange."

Katsuhito shook his head. "I'm afraid you're overestimating me there, not to mention selling yourself short. You put up a good fight, although you overextended yourself in that last exchange. I haven't had a match like that in quite some time."

The priest held out his hand. "You're welcome to come back here anytime you want to go another round. I wouldn't mind the practice."

Heero nodded and shook the old man's hand. "I might take you up on that. Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Katsuhito, "You got rather aggressive there towards the end."

"I thought I had seen enough of your fighting style to take you down," Heero replied, "It looks like I was wrong."

"Perhaps," said the shrine keeper, "but you made a good show of it. Maybe next time I won't be so lucky, eh?"

Heero shook his head. "Somehow I doubt that."

Ryoko stood up and went over to him. "Hey, don't be like that! You'll kick his ass next time, Heero!"

Heero chuckled. "Maybe down the road, but not right away. You didn't fight him, Ryoko."

"That good, huh?" said Ryoko as she looked over at the priest.

Katsuhito shook his head. "Your friend gives me too much credit, young lady. He's a very capable fighter in his own right."

Ryoko turned back to Heero and smiled. "He's got a point. You still put on one hell of a show, Heero!"

Heero nodded. "Thanks."

"Would you two care to stay for dinner?" asked Katsuhito, "I'm sure it won't take that long for me to make something."

Heero shook his head. "We should get back."

Ryoko stretched and yawned. "I'm with you there, Heero. I'm beat."

"Are you sure?" asked the shrine keeper.

Heero nodded. "We had a long fight out here. I appreciate the offer, but at this time I think it'd be best if the two of us went on our way."

Katsuhito nodded. "Very well. Don't be a stranger. Feel free to visit anytime."

"Thanks," said Heero, "We might just do that."

"Come on, Heero," said Ryoko as she put her arm around him, "Let's go home."

The two of them headed towards the stairs, and to Ryoko's pleasant surprise Heero didn't try to shake her arm off. His expression was no different than usual, but he seemed a little more relaxed than normal.

"Well," she said as they headed down the stone steps, "that was interesting."

Heero nodded. "I wasn't expecting to get into a kendo match with the local shrine keeper."

"Hey," said Ryoko with a smile, "it looked to me like you were having some fun with that fight! It's good to blow off some steam once in a while, you know?"

She was glad to see a small smirk appear on his face. "It was… entertaining. I might just have to go back for another match sometime."

"See?" said Ryoko, "First day here and you've already made a friend thanks to me! Now aren't you glad that I dragged you outside for some exploring rather than just let you unpack and snooze back at the house?"

"Perhaps," said Heero, sounding a bit ambiguous.

They walked in silence for a moment before a thought crossed Ryoko's mind and she just had to give voice to it. "Hey, remember that cave off to the side of the shrine?"

Heero nodded. "What about it?"

"What do you think is in there?" she asked.

"Good question," Heero replied, "You should ask the shrine keeper next time we go up there."

Ryoko smiled. "Maybe I will."

….

 **October 7** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"Ah," said Ayeka as she set down her cup of tea on the table, "that is superb! Sasami, you truly have outdone yourself!"

Her little sister smiled. "Thanks, Ayeka! I did it just like Heero showed me!"

Ayeka returned her smile from her seat on the couch. "Well, then I would say that you have an excellent teacher. Why don't you pour yourself a cup and join me?"

Sasami nodded. "Okay."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her spot next to Ayeka.

Sasami pointed at the strange furball and frowned. "No! I already gave you carrots earlier. You have to wait until lunch now, Ryo-Ohki!"

"Meow…" the living starship pouted.

Sasami turned back to Ayeka and nodded. "I'll be right back."

 _How lovely_ , she thought as she watched her sister go over to the kitchen, _Sir Heero's been a wonderful influence on Sasami. I never imagined that his talents encompassed so many areas._

Then again, from what Ayeka understood Heero had lived alone prior to her and the others moving in with him. It was only natural that he would pick up certain skills to provide for himself, and apparently good tea making was one of them. She was relieved that he was still willing to pass on those skills to her younger sister even in light of the mess that Sasami had helped cause several days ago.

The crown princess of Jurai, brought down by a carrot held by her sister in plain view of Ryo-Ohki? The thought was simply absurd, and if Ayeka hadn't lived through it herself she would've dismissed the idea as insanity. Still, with some reflection Ayeka realized that her misfortune might actually be a blessing in disguise.

 _I have more time now_ , she thought as she looked out the window, _There's no need for a rushed confession. I can take my time with Sir Heero… grow our rapport, and work up my courage to fully express my feelings towards him. Yes… getting stuck here a while longer might well have been the best thing that could've happened to me!_

There he was, just outside the window, sitting down on the wooden porch that wrapped around part of the house and looking out at the lake. Heero looked to be simply enjoying the surprising warm fall day, and Ayeka was loath to interrupt one of his rare moments of peace and quiet. Still, there was the temptation to go outside and join him. Perhaps she could do so under the pretense of bringing him a cup of tea?

"Oh, Sasami!" said Ayeka as she turned around, "How much tea did you make?"

"A whole pot!" Sasami replied as she came back towards the living room with her cup, "Why do you ask?"

Ayeka was about to answer when she saw trouble heading right for her sister. "Sasami, to your right!"

The younger princess turned, but she was too late; Mihoshi walked right into her, and the two of them went tumbling to the ground.

"Ow!" cried the blonde space cop as the tea spilled on her, "That's hot!"

"Mihoshi!" cried Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki as she ran towards the two of them.

Mihoshi quickly stood up. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry!"

Ayeka shook her head. "Goodness, woman, you're just coming down here _now_? You missed breakfast, and it's nearly noon already!"

"I'm really sorry!" she said sheepishly, "I was tired from yesterday."

"So you slept for, what, a good _fourteen hours_?" said Ayeka incredulously, "My word, how in the name of Tsunami have you kept your job, Mihoshi?"

"Ayeka, that's enough!" Sasami chided her as she dusted herself off, "She said she was sorry."

Ayeka sighed. "Very well."

"I should clean this up," said Sasami, nodding at the spilled tea and the broken cup.

"I'll do it!" said Mihoshi, "I made the mess, so I'll take care of it!"

"At least Ryo-Ohki's helping," said Sasami.

Indeed, the furball was lapping away at the tea on the floor. While the creature's appetite seemed to consist mainly of an overwhelming hunger for carrots, apparently Ryo-Ohki did have some degree of flexibility.

"Sasami," said Mihoshi, "Where's the cleaning supplies?"

"Back here," said Sasami as she lead the way toward the kitchen, "Come on, I'll show you."

 _That's surprisingly responsible of Mihoshi_ , Ayeka mused, _although… I do hope she doesn't find some way to make it worse._

There was a rippling noise, and Ayeka nearly jumped out of her seat as Ryoko phased right through the ceiling and into the living room. "What's with all the racket? Can't a girl get some beauty sleep around here?"

Ayeka pointed at her rival, her eyes narrowing in a glare. "You! You're even worse than Mihoshi! How late were you planning on sleeping?"

Ryoko shrugged. "Hey, I was up later than any of you, so shut up. Besides, it's not like I'm going back to bed now."

That certainly seemed to be the case based on her attire; it was her tunic and crimson leggings. Ayeka mused that that was one of the advantages of being out here in the country as opposed to the city; they were free to wear their normal clothing now. For herself, Ayeka was clad in the kimono she had worn upon arrival, as was Sasami, while Mihoshi had on her pink tank-top and jeans.

"My, my," said Azaka, "It seems today's shaping up to be quite a lively one."

"I just hope things don't get too carried away," said Kamidake.

"I'm starving!" said Ryoko, "You better have saved me some food!"

"It's in the microwave, Ryoko!" Sasami replied, "Heero put some there for you and Mihoshi. Just heat it up for a few seconds and it will be good to go!"

Ryoko smiled. "Thanks, kid."

Ayeka eyed the space pirate with suspicion as she went over to the kitchen. Her words about being up later than her and the others did not sound like they boded well. What had that woman been up to?

 _That foul tramp_ , she silently fumed, _If she tried to make a move on Sir Heero while the rest of us were asleep I will have her head!_

She took a deep breath to calm herself as she once again looked at her host through the window. No, she had nothing to worry about. Heero had proven himself to be a man of great character and inner nobility; he was far above whatever cheap seductions Ryoko might employ.

That did once again bring to her mind the thought that she now had a chance to deepen her relationship with her host, and Ayeka knew that she would be foolish to ignore it. Deciding that the others would be preoccupied for at least a few minutes, she stood up and headed right for the front door. When she got outside she was surprised to see that Heero had gotten up and was heading towards the lake.

"Sir Heero!" she cried as she picked up her pace a bit, "Where are you going?"

Heero stopped and turned towards her. "Ayeka. I was going to check out that tree in the middle of the lake. Would you care to join me?"

Ayeka beamed at the invitation. "Yes, I'd love to!"

Ayeka immediately wanted to cringe at just how eager she had sounded there. If she truly wanted to win Heero's affections she couldn't act like a besotted schoolgirl. Her host was young, but he was definitely a mature adult; a more responsible and restrained approach would be the best way to get closer to him.

If Heero was taken aback at all by her enthusiasm he gave no sign of it. The young man simply nodded and started walking again.

"All right, then," he said, "Let's go."

A few seconds later they were at the edge of the lake. Ayeka looked on as Heero studied the stone steps before cautiously going out onto the first one.

"How is it?" asked Ayeka.

Heero nodded and held out his hand. "Seems pretty stable. Come on."

Ayeka fought to keep from blushing as she gingerly accepted his hand and stepped out onto the rock. The surface was surprisingly smooth, and it was a little slick. Ayeka felt her left foot lose traction and she slipped forward. She feared that she would knock both herself and Heero right into the water, but to her surprise he caught her without budging so much as a centimeter.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

 _Am I?_ , she thought, the heat rushing to her face as she felt his hands firmly holding her hips and realized that her head was right up against Heero's chest, _Oh, you have no idea, Sir Heero…_

She cautiously righted herself, keeping her hands on Heero's shoulders as she did so. When she felt more confident of her footing she nodded and gave her host a smile.

"I believe so," she said, "Thank you, Sir Heero!"

Heero nodded as he turned forward. "Mind your footing. I'm sure the others will be just as smooth and slick."

"Right," said Ayeka.

She let him take the lead as they slowly made their way across the stepping stones. Each time she moved from one stone to the next Ayeka feared that she would fall again, but Heero was always there to keep her from slipping into the lake. Ayeka wondered if Ryoko and the others were watching them from the windows. The thought gave her a small thrill, if only because of how jealous her rival would be.

As they got closer to the island Ayeka gained a new appreciation for how big the tree was. It wasn't taller than the trees that covered the hills, but it was much wider at the base. Just like yesterday, Ayeka found herself reminded of the Royal Trees of Jurai, but there was just no way that this particular specimen of flora could be one of them.

Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief as Heero helped her off the last stone and onto the small grassy island itself. "Once again, you have my thanks, Sir Heero. I would've fallen into the lake several times over were it not for you!"

"Don't mention it," said Heero, "If you train a little and work on your balance you should be able to overcome that problem."

Ayeka smiled and shook her head. "Training? I'm afraid I wouldn't know the first place to start, Sir Heero."

"It's not that complicated," Heero replied, "Even something simple like jogging can help improve your coordination. You should try it sometime."

Ayeka nodded. "Perhaps I will. You certainly don't seem to have any trouble with balance, if you don't mind me saying."

"That's because my training's been reinforced by experience," said Heero, "When you're in my line of work you don't live too long if you can't keep your footing."

"I will keep that in mind, Sir Heero," said Ayeka.

Heero turned towards the tree. "So, what do you think?"

Ayeka looked up and smiled. "It's quite lovely. I'm surprised that it still has so much green in its branches, considering how colorful the trees in the hills are."

Heero nodded. "Yes, I noticed that too. I'm surprised it's out here to begin with; out in the middle of a lake, even a small one, is not a place I'd expect a tree as large as this one to thrive."

"It must be quite old," said Ayeka, "Judging from how wide the trunk is. I mean, I'm no expert on Earth trees, but would I be wrong to assume that the width of the base and how many rings are on the inside would be good indicators as to a tree's age?"

"That's correct," said Heero, "So I take it Jurai trees work the same way as ours, then. As far as aging goes, I mean."

"So it would seem," said Ayeka, "I know some of the more well known specimens in the Empire have been in existence for millennia. A few are believed to be as old as the Empire of Jurai itself, or perhaps even older."

"That's impressive," Heero replied, "They must be quite imposing."

Ayeka smiled. "Oh, they are glorious sights to behold, Sir Heero! Some have become major tourist attractions in their own right. In fact, for a truly devoted citizen of the Empire one might say that visiting one of the Grand Trees, as we call the oldest specimens, is something of a sacred pilgrimage. It is recommended that citizens see at least one of them within their lifetimes."

"That sounds like a few of the religions we have in the Earth Sphere," Heero replied, "For Islam it's recommended that devout members with the means make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy city in the Middle East. Roman Catholics have something similar with the Vatican in Rome, although again this is not a strict requirement but rather a desire if one has the funds to pursue such a trip. For other Christian denominations and Jewish sects the city of Jerusalem in the Middle East may have a similar sort of significance as a pilgrimage site."

"I see," said Ayeka, "I suppose when viewed in that light a trip to see one of the Grand Trees could be considered to be a religious pilgrimage of sorts."

"Does the Empire have any major religions?" asked Heero.

"Yes," Ayeka replied, "although… it is rather hard to describe the faith most commonly adhered to in the Empire of Jurai."

"I've got time if you want to try," said Heero.

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Very well. Do recall what I told you about the legends regarding the guardian entity Tsunami?"

Heero nodded. "Yes."

"I suppose you could say that our… _faith_ … centers primarily upon her," said Ayeka, "We believe that she is the divine figure that watches over both Jurai and the broader Empire. Her power gifted our world with life and strength, and her wisdom guided our founding Emperor and his descendants."

"Simple enough so far," said Heero.

"This is where it gets more complicated," said Ayeka, "Beyond the legends of the initial contact between her and the Emperor and her pledge to him and his descendants there is not much in the way of organized doctrine surrounding her, if you will. There is no central text like other religions, but rather a variety of writings from philosophers and historians concerning possible interpretations of her will for both the people and Jurai as a whole. There is also no central holiday named for her or celebrated for her; the closest one might get to that would be the anniversary of the Empire's founding. Our other holidays primarily concern the seasons and the start of the new year, along with celebrating a few historical occurrences."

"What about worship practices?" asked Heero.

"Well," said Ayeka, "the fact of the matter is that there is really no single practice. People may invoke Tsunami's name in private prayer or in public ceremonies, but there is no set manner in which one has to do that. There are several shrines and temples dedicated to her, but there are many more that are devoted to nature and ancestral spirits that people may pray to as well. Heroes or other figures of great renown in Jurai's past may also receive a shrine if they are deemed worthy of such an honor by both the throne and a special historical council."

Heero nodded. "Are there any central tenets?"

Ayeka smiled. "Yes, although it really might be better to just call them general principals. Kindness towards others, regardless of social class. Respect for life, from the smallest insect and blade of grass to the greatest beast and mightiest tree. Harmony between civilization and nature. Loyalty to friends and devotion to loved ones. Fealty in romance. Seek out knowledge, and always strive to improve your understanding of the world so that you may play your part in making it a better one."

She was surprised to see a very small smile grace Heero's face. "I can't find fault with any of those. They're simple, yet at the same time elegant and universal. If more people adhered to those then I'd be out of a job, and I'd be quite all right with that."

There was a kind of wistfulness to his voice that tugged at Ayeka's heartstrings. She had yet to learn any of the details regarding particular missions that he had undertaken prior to meeting her, but from the general description of his occupation that he had given her it was clearly a role that involved a measure of violence. Ayeka understood that combat was sometimes necessary in order to protect the peace, but from what little she knew about Heero it seemed that the need to occasionally take life so that others may be kept safe was a burden that weighed heavily upon him.

 _What has he gone through?_ , she thought as she looked longingly at him, _What past battles has he endured? What has he sacrificed in the name of peace for his world? Sir Heero…_

Ayeka found herself reaching out towards him, almost completely by reflex. Her hand barely brushed against his, and she was about to take hold of it when he spoke again.

"So," he said, "if the legend of Tsunami and the texts and teachings surrounding her consist of Jurai's main religion, what about other faiths? You've said that your nation is a galactic empire; surely you've encountered other religions."

Ayeka quickly withdrew her hand and nodded. "Oh, of course!"

"Has that ever caused problems?" asked Heero.

"In the early days of our expansion, yes," said Ayeka, "However, I believe that was due primarily to cultural misunderstandings and heavy-handedness on the part of certain Imperial officials. The tenets of Jurai's faith are of peace and harmony; asserting dominance over another faith is completely counterintuitive. It is also incredibly counterproductive, as the Emperor and his top advisors wisely concluded. That was when they set about crafting what became collectively known as the Jurai Imperial Statutes of Faith. They essentially codified the role of religion within the Empire and laid the groundwork for all future matters regarding the relationship between the government and spirituality."

"How do the Statutes work?" asked Heero.

Ayeka smiled. "Simply put, they encourage coexistence among faiths within the Empire of Jurai. While the Royal Family and the nobility may all believe in the power and the teachings of Tsunami, the Emperor and his council deliberately crafted the Statutes to forbid themselves from imposing one faith or doctrine upon the people. At the same time the Statutes legalize the practice of other religions provided that matters of faith do not intrude upon the legal rights of citizens. Having spiritual beliefs is perfectly acceptable within the Empire and is protected by the Statutes, but the moment one faith or another begins to impose itself upon people and limit their civil rights, and has been proven to do so before a special tribunal, the throne and the Emperor's advisory council are permitted to step in and address the matter alongside the judiciary and local government offices."

Heero nodded. "I like the sound of that system so far, but wouldn't involving the Emperor directly put it at the mercy of his particular beliefs?"

Ayeka shook her head. "It may seem that way at first, but remember; the Statutes explicitly prohibit the Emperor from imposing a faith on the subjects of the Empire. In order to enforce that, the Statutes give the throne rather limited powers on matters of religion; the courts are given greater prerogative in matters of conflict between state and faith. The Emperor can exercise a measure of influence, but if it is found to be unduly in favor of one religion then the judiciary can act against him, with the support of the Noble Assembly."

"What's the Noble Assembly?" asked Heero.

"Oh, that's a body comprised of the upper echelon of the imperial nobility," said Ayeka, "Officially they're supposed to handle governmental affairs that are deemed below the level of requiring the direct attention of the throne. The positions are all hereditary, and the body elects a prominent member to serve as its head who is known as the Assembly Minister. However, oftentimes the nobles that make up the assembly are not actually present, instead running the affairs of their own domains. Instead they simply send representatives, typically a family member chosen by the noble in question."

Heero nodded. "So it's an unelected legislative body, then."

"That's not a bad way to look at it, I suppose," said Ayeka, "By design the Empire of Jurai lacks most of the democratic institutions of your Earth Sphere Unified Nation. I hope that you bear it no ill will for that, Sir Heero."

Heero shook his head. "As long as it protects its people and doesn't interfere in our affairs I think I can deal with that."

Ayeka gave him a relieved smile. "I'm glad to hear that."

Heero looked at the tree before them in thought for a moment. "So between the Emperor and his council, the courts, and the Noble Assembly the Empire of Jurai has a system of checks and balances designed to enforce the Statutes of Faith and protect the free exercise of religion in the territory it controls provided that it doesn't conflict with the individual rights of the people. How's that for a summary?"

"Succinct and accurate, Sir Heero," said Ayeka, "You're quite astute when it comes to politics, if I do say so myself."

"A necessity in my line of work," Heero replied, "Not understanding the political ramifications of a mission can be just as bad as not understanding the mission itself."

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Your mindfulness is truly remarkable, Sir Heero. Director Une and Lady Sally could not ask for a better soldier than yourself. You are a great credit to your organization."

"Thanks," said Heero.

She watched as he took a step forward and reached out towards the tree, putting his hand on the trunk. He looked quite thoughtful as he did so, and Ayeka was keen to know what was on his mind now.

"Tell me something," he said after a moment, "Has religion in the Empire ever taken a… violent turn?"

Ayeka was a bit taken aback by that question. "Sir Heero?"

"I'll rephrase that," said Heero, "Has anyone in the Empire of Jurai ever used religion as an excuse for violence?"

"Well," she said cautiously, "as far as the faith of Tsunami is concerned, the closest that it has ever come to any sort of violence was in the earliest days of our expansion. Like I said before, the heavy-handedness of some imperial officials led to serious issues. It bred hostility between the Empire and the newest vassals, but thanks to the Emperor and his top advisors writing the Statutes of Faith violence was limited to a few scuffles and protests. Since then the faith of Tsunami has stood as an example of how one spiritual path can embrace tolerance of all others."

"But there are other faiths within the Empire," said Heero, "There has to have been members of them who did not like the idea of their religion not being dominant, or being able to strictly control the lives of their followers without violating the Statutes of Faith."

Ayeka nodded slowly. "Yes… at times there have been. With as vast as the Empire is and with so many religions being under its umbrella it was really only a matter of time before zealots and those who used religion as a vessel for power began to push back against their perceived loss of influence. There have been… _incidents_ , from time to time."

"Terrorism?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing at the word.

Ayeka sighed. "I'm afraid so, yes."

"How does Jurai respond when an attack takes place?" asked Heero.

"Carefully," Ayeka replied, "Anyone who dares to harm the citizens of the Empire will be met with the might of Jurai and made to answer for their crimes. However, at the same time the throne must proceed cautiously, lest it give the impression that it is waging a campaign against an entire faith. An investigation is typically able to determine the identity of the targets, and from there every effort is made to apprehend them and bring them to trial. Failing that, elimination of the targets is handled by the intelligence services, the military, or the police depending on the situation. The Empire also carefully examines the factors that may have motivated the attack in the first place in order to try to prevent another incident. Combating religiously motivated terrorism is not something that can be done with brute force; without understanding the cultural, sociological, scriptural, or even economical or political motivations that convince people to commit such violence then we would simply end up waging an eternal war against them."

Heero nodded. "Our government follows a similar path. Granted, we no longer have the large armies of old, but we still have the forces we need to combat extremism. However, without understanding what prompts people to go down that road in the first place we would simply end up in a state of eternal conflict. Fortunately we've avoided making the same mistakes as some past government have made. We do have terrorist groups and individuals that we have to deal with, but because we don't treat every incident with a hammer we're able to manage extremists and keep the peace much more effectively."

Ayeka smiled. "I would imagine that you are an integral part of your government's efforts to keep the peace. A man of your skill and character is without a doubt an invaluable soldier."

Heero shook his head. "I may be one of the top agents, but I'm just one part of a larger whole. If I left tomorrow Preventers would carry on just fine without me."

There was something odd about the way he said those words. To Ayeka it sounded almost like he was trying to convince _himself_ of that rather than her.

"Then again," said Heero, almost like he was thinking out loud, "I'm not sure what I'd do outside of my current line of work."

"Sir Heero?" said Ayeka, raising an eyebrow.

The young man shook his head. "It's nothing. Forget I said anything."

It would be impossible for Ayeka to do that, but the least she was capable of was respecting his wishes and refrain from prying… regardless of how badly she wanted to at that moment.

He turned to her. "We should head back. The others are probably wondering what's up by now."

Ayeka nodded reluctantly; she certainly wouldn't have minded staying out on the island with him a little longer, but she would not fight him. "Very well, then. Lead on, Sir Heero."

Her host took a step out onto the nearest stone. Ayeka was about to follow when she felt the faintest hint of… _something_ … behind her.

She looked back and saw nothing but the tree. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the specimen intently. For just a moment there, she could've sworn she'd sensed the same sort of energy as that which flowed within the Royal Trees of Jurai.

 _It cannot be…_

She stared hard at the tree, but she felt nothing. Whatever brief flicker of power she may have sensed must've been strictly within her imagination.

"Ayeka," said Heero, "You okay?"

Ayeka quickly turned back towards him and smiled. "Oh, quite so, Sir Heero! Let's go back!"

 _How foolish of me_ , she thought as she slowly followed him across the stepping stones back to shore, _Of course that tree is not one from Jurai. How can it be, when I am the first citizen of the Empire to set foot upon this world? Just a silly bit of my imagination, nothing more…_

….

 **October 10** **th** **, A.C. 198**

The crack of wood hitting wood filled the air as Heero traded blows with Katsuhito. Having just disrupted the shrine keeper's rhythm, the Gundam pilot was now on the attack, raining down blow after blow as fast as he could, determined not to let up and give the old man any breathing room whatsoever.

"Come on, Heero!" he heard Mihoshi cry.

"Kick his ass, Heero!" yelled Ryoko.

"Fight well!" cried Ayeka.

"You can do it!" shouted Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

In front of him he saw Katsuhito smirk as he fell back under Heero's assault. "Sounds like the ladies are enjoying the show. You'd better not let them down, young man."

"I don't intend to," Heero replied as he brought his _bokken_ down in a hard overhand strike.

Heero was rather surprised that he'd decided to come back to the shrine so quickly. On the surface his excuse had made since; Ryoko may have seen it already, but Ayeka and the others hadn't. After a couple days of getting settled in the time had come to start exploring the area, and what better way to start than by introducing the rest of the girls to their new neighbor? However, Heero couldn't deny the small part of his mind that told him that his reasons were a bit more selfish than simply letting his roommates get to know the area they'd be calling home for the foreseeable future.

 _I'm no kendo expert_ , he thought as he fended off a sudden counterattack from the old man, _but my combat experience and training is enough to let me hold my own in a fight. Still, even with that I was defeated by this guy. He moves much faster than his age would suggest… he's_ _ **good**_ _._

Heero had some experience with martial artists, with his fellow Gundam pilot Chang Wufei being the most immediate example, but him and the others that Heero had encountered had always been in the prime of their lives. Katsuhito was clearly getting up there in years if the grey hair was any indication, but his moves were still swift, polished, and precise. If age had slowed him down at all Heero couldn't tell; he could only imagine what the shrine keeper had been like in his prime.

That was why Heero had wanted to fight him again. To go up against someone like this, who was clearly a master in his chosen field of martial arts, was an incredibly thrilling experience. Heero did not seek battle for battle's sake, but this was different; there were no lives riding on the line and no political consequences of any kind for victory or defeat. This was simply a sparring match where he could test his skills against someone who not only knew what they were doing but who was also _better_ than him. As far as exercise went, Heero couldn't ask for a better workout.

He was on the defensive now, falling back as Katsuhito took the initiative. Keeping his wooden sword close to his body to intercept attacks while minimizing openings, Heero steadily fell back in an attempt to give himself room to maneuver. The shrine keeper was relentless, with one attack seamlessly flowing right into another. Using traditional blocks, parries, and counters to get out of this situation would not work for Heero, not when the man who was attacking him outclassed him in the art of the sword.

 _Good thing I can improvise_ , thought Heero as he deflected another slash, _and the old man never said that we were fighting with traditional kendo rules. It's time for me to take advantage of that!_

As Katsuhito took another swing Heero ducked and rolled to the right. He then lashed out at the shrine keeper's legs, but Katsuhito surprised him by jumping right over his sword. Still, the move had bought Heero a split-second of breathing room, and he was able to take advantage of that. Coming upright again, the Preventers operative thrust forward at the priest just as the old man's feet were touching the ground again.

Amazingly, the shrine keeper managed to redirect the thrust, and Heero found himself going right past him. Whirling around as fast as he could, Heero was barely able to bring his wooden sword up in time to block a swift slash from Katsuhito. Once again the old man took the offensive, undoing all of Heero's work in the span of just a few seconds.

Heero ducked and rolled again, this time to the left. Instead of attacking the shrine keeper's legs this time Heero brought his _bokken_ up to try to slash Katsuhito across the torso. The priest was still able to block the strike, but Heero was able to quickly make another slash and put the old man on the defensive.

Katsuhito was forced to step back to give himself room to counter, but Heero refused to give him the chance to interrupt his momentum. The Gundam pilot pressed his assault with a vertical strike followed by a diagonal slash, both moves which the shrine keeper blocked but was unable to counter. The old man was steadily falling back, and Heero was determined to keep it that way.

He thrust forward to try to hit the priest in the gut, but his attack was deflected. Heero followed that up with a horizontal slash, but once again Katsuhito blocked the strike. For a second the old man had an opening to go back on the offensive, but to Heero's surprise he didn't take it. The Preventers operative found out why a moment later; as Heero made an overhand strike Katsuhito sidestepped and ducked, making a sweeping kick and knocking the Perfect Soldier right off his feet.

Heero fell right on his back, and as he looked up he saw the shrine keeper standing over him, his wooden sword to the Gundam pilot's throat and a small smile on his face. "Match?"

Heero nodded. "Match."

Katsuhito held out his hand, and Heero accepted it. As the old man pulled him to his feet his small smile became a full grin.

"Very well done!" said the shrine keeper, "You're flexible and quick-thinking, but you really should've considered that if you can play outside the normal rules then so can your opponent."

"I was fully aware of that," Heero replied, "I know that we never agreed on any ground rules beyond 'first hit wins.' You're just too fast."

Katsuhito shook his head. "Actually I would say that you're faster than I am. My advantage would be that I am more experienced in the art of sword fighting than you are, so I'm better able to anticipate your moves… even when you part from traditional swordplay."

Heero nodded. "I see."

"Heero!" cried Ryoko as she and the others came forward, "Are you okay?"

Heero nodded as he dusted himself off. "I'm fine."

"You did quite well, Sir Heero," said Ayeka with a smile.

"You were great!" chirped Mihoshi.

"Yeah!" said Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Their approval was nice, but for reasons he could not explain Heero found himself looking at Ryoko. The space pirate gave him a smile and a nod.

"You've got the moves, Heero," she said, "You'll beat him next time!"

Heero couldn't help but chuckle. "We'll see."

"Hopefully sometime soon," said Katsuhito, "It's been quite a while since I've had a good sparring partner. In the meantime, what do you say to some lunch? If you'd like I have some rice balls in my kitchen."

Heero shook his head. "You don't need to feed us. We'll head home for lunch."

Katsuhito smiled. "No, no, it's no imposition at all. Please, I insist. It's the least I can do to thank you for bringing so many lovely young ladies over!"

"Rice balls sound good!" said Sasami.

Mihoshi nodded. "I'm hungry!"

"Meow…" whined Ryo-Ohki.

"A meal would be nice," said Ayeka.

Ryoko shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Heero nodded at Katsuhito. "Looks like I've been outvoted."

"Excellent," said the shrine keeper, "I'll be right back."

As the priest headed off Heero simply dropped his wooden sword and went over to the steps the shrine. Taking a seat, he grabbed a nearby water bottle and took a drink.

 _When I came out here I didn't think I'd end up as the shrine keeper's workout partner_ , Heero mused, _Still, as far as assignments go this one's pretty nice. I wonder what Wufei would think of the priest… he'd probably have some fun sparring with him too._

Ryoko sat down next to him and smiled. "You looked like you were having fun out there!"

"What gave you that idea?" asked Heero as he took another sip.

Ryoko gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Come on, you don't have to hide it from me! I've gotten to know you pretty well over the past month, Heero. Admit it; you were excited during that fight."

"As much as I hate to agree with Ryoko on anything," said Ayeka, "I do feel that she is on the mark here. Sir Heero, you may not have been smiling during the match, but to me you still did appear to be quite engaged in the contest."

A dark skinned hand ruffled his hair, and Heero looked up to see Mihoshi standing over him with a big smile on her face. "You don't need to hold yourself back, Heero! You're allowed to have some fun just like the rest of us!"

That was surprisingly insightful from the normally hapless space cop. Next to Mihoshi Heero saw Sasami nodding in agreement.

"You need to do things that you enjoy, Heero," said Ayeka's younger sister, "It's good for you!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her perch atop Sasami's head.

"Look," said Ryoko, "your bosses may want you to keep an eye on us, but that doesn't mean it just has to be a job for you. We had some fun back when we were in Brussels; no reason why we can't enjoy ourselves out here, and that goes for you too!"

"If something catches your fancy, don't hesitate to tell us!" said Ayeka, nodding enthusiastically, "I understand your desire to do your duty, but please don't feel that you must neglect personal pursuits on our account. Sir Heero, if you have an interest or a hobby that you wish to try then I will do everything I can to encourage and support you in it!"

"Yup!" said Mihoshi, "The rest of us can try stuff with you too! It'll be fun for everyone!"

"Yeah!" Sasami chimed in, "And I'll try hard to think of stuff that we can all do together!"

"Meow! Meow!" Ryo-Ohki sang.

Heero couldn't help but smile at their sincerity. To have so many people genuinely care about him being able to enjoy himself was something he definitely wasn't used to. He knew that Sally and Lady Une had their concerns about him and had tried to encourage him to relax more in their own way, but it was quite unlike the treatment he was getting now. This was completely new to him, but despite the unfamiliarity it was quite refreshing for Heero.

 _I'm glad Duo's not here right now_ , he mused, _Four women around me, all concerned about me finding something that I enjoy… I'd never hear the end of it._

"Ah, it sounds like you all are enjoying yourselves," said Katsuhito as he approached them, a tray of rice balls in his hands, "Sorry about the delay."

Heero shook his head. "It's fine."

"About time!" said Ryoko, eying the food, "Let's dig in!"

Ayeka shook her head in disdain. "Really, Ryoko, can you not show the slightest bit of decorum and courtesy?"

"Can it, you royal nag," said Ryoko dismissively.

Ayeka stomped her foot on the ground, seething with indignation. "Why, you loathsome cur!"

"Ayeka, stop it!" cried Sasami as she grabbed her older sister's arm.

"Please don't fight!" whimpered Mihoshi as she put her arms around Ryoko, "I want to eat!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Heero sighed before standing up. "That's enough, all of you! We're guests here, and if you don't cut this out I'll take you all home right now."

 _Why do I always end up being the adult in the group?_ , he thought, _This is getting ridiculous._

His words and tone seemed to be enough to quell any potential violence. The girls broke apart, with Ryoko and Ayeka folding their arms and glaring at each other but not taking things any further than that.

Katsuhito chuckled as he set the tray down next to Heero. "Quite a feisty bunch of young ladies you have here, Heero. They must be a real handful at home."

 _You have_ _ **no**_ _idea_ , he thought, _If these girls don't drive me crazy it won't be for lack of trying._

"They keep things… lively," he said after a moment while the girls started grabbing food.

"You mean we keep things fun!" said Ryoko between mouthfuls of rice.

"Atrocious manners…" Ayeka muttered as she took a small bite.

"This is good!" said Mihoshi as she started chowing down.

Sasami nodded. "Thanks a lot, mister!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki with joy as she dug into her meal.

"You're very welcome," Katsuhito replied as he sat down on the steps of the shrine and grabbed a rice ball for himself, "Eat as much as you like."

"Don't mind if I do!" said Ryoko as she chewed.

"So, Mister Katsuhito," said Ayeka, "If you do not mind me asking, how long have you been the caretaker of this temple?"

"Oh, about as long as I can remember, I believe," the priest replied, "The Masaki family has watched over this shrine for many generations. I take my duties to this place quite seriously, and I must say that this sort of life is quite soothing and peaceful."

"What about your sword skills?" asked Heero, "Are those part of a shrine keeper's duties?"

He watched the old man carefully as he smiled and replied. "Oh, no, they're just a hobby of mine. I have to keep in shape somehow."

 _Hardly a hobby_ , Heero thought, _I'm no expert, but I've been in enough fights to know that this guy's moves are top notch. He probably trained and fought competitively in his earlier days. He must've been something to watch in tournaments._

Heero kept his musings private. If the old man did not want to go into detail on the roots of his skills then Heero would respect that. Given how much of his own past he kept hidden away Heero felt that it would be hypocritical of him to force the priest to go any further into his than he wanted to. It wasn't like Ryoko or any of his other guests, where learning about them was an important part of his responsibilities and determining if they were a threat to the world; the priest was just a friendly neighbor who happened to have an interesting talent.

"I want to try it!" said Mihoshi, "I think fighting with those wooden swords would be fun!"

"Sure," said Ryoko with a smirk, "Right until you fall flat on your face."

"Mihoshi," said Ayeka, "perhaps it would be best if you found a pursuit that did not demand quite as much coordination."

"It looks like it'd take a lot of work," said Sasami, "Mihoshi, you probably wouldn't be able to sleep as much as you do if you train for that."

Mihoshi looked down in disappointment. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

 _Mihoshi with a sword_ , Heero mused, _Even if it's just a wooden one that's an accident waiting to happen…_

"I'm sure you can find something else to try out, young lady," said Katsuhito.

Mihoshi nodded and smiled. "Okay."

"Hey, old man," said Ryoko as she finished up a rice ball, "Got a question for you."

Katsuhito smiled. "Go ahead."

Ryoko pointed past the group and off to the side. "What's in that cave over there?"

Heero had been wondering when the pirate would bring that up. While he was curious himself he hadn't been planning on asking the priest about it personally, at least not today. Now that Ryoko had done it though Heero figured he might as well pay attention and see what he could learn.

Katsuhito smiled as he looked where Ryoko was pointing. "Ah, that cave… that is the very reason the Masaki shrine was built."

"What do you mean?" asked Sasami.

"Many centuries ago," said Katsuhito, "legends say that a powerful demon came to this land. Unable to slay it, a local priest instead imprisoned it within that cave. In their gratitude, the local villagers helped the priest construct a new shrine to watch over the cave in the event that the demon might slip free of its prison. That priest was of the Masaki line, and it has been the duty of the Masaki family to have at least one descendant of him watch over this place at all times."

"How strong was this demon?" asked Mihoshi.

"That is hard to say," the shrine keeper replied, "but if it terrified the locals to the extent that the priest would seal it in a cave then it must have been a fearsome demon indeed."

"That's scary!" said Sasami.

"Quite an interesting story," said Ayeka.

"Yeah," said Ryoko.

There was a devious light in the space pirate's amber eyes that did not bode well as far as Heero was concerned. He wasn't sure what Ryoko was thinking, but the Preventers operative was quite sure that whatever she had in mind would likely involve getting into some sort of trouble.

"So what does the demon look like?" asked Mihoshi.

Katsuhito shook his head. "No one knows. There are no paintings or drawings, and the legends do not describe its appearance. We do not even know if it was male or female."

"How strange," said Ayeka, "If it terrorized this whole area then one would think that there might at least be some sort of artistic rendering of the thing."

"Alas, there is not," said Katsuhito.

"Interesting," said Ryoko, smirking as she looked at the cave.

Once again Heero saw that mischievous light in her eyes, and this time she caught him looking. The wing that the lovely pirate sent his way did not make Heero feel any better about it.

 _She's got something planned_ , he thought, _and that's probably going to mean a headache for me._

"When was the last time someone went in there?" Ryoko asked the priest.

"Not since the demon was sealed away," said Katsuhito, "From that point onward entry into that cave has been strictly forbidden."

"Then how do you know if the demon's still in there?" asked Sasami.

Katsuhito chuckled. "I think that if this demon escaped people would notice rather quickly."

"Perhaps," said Ayeka, "but would it not be prudent to at least check to make sure it remains sealed?"

"It might," Katsuhito replied, "but by the rules laid down by the original founder of this shrine no one may enter the cave. That applies even to me, the current priest. Whether that is wise or not is open to debate, but that is the tradition and the rules that I am bound by."

"But it's not like you can stop everyone who wants to get in there, right?" said Ryoko, her eyes narrowing, "Even you have to sleep, old man, and I'm not seeing anyone else working here."

The shrine keeper smiled. "Yes, that is quite true. However, there are other deterrents within that cave. Legends speak of many traps that were set in there, both to stop people from going in and to keep the demon from escaping."

"All the more reason not to go in there, then," said Ayeka.

"What kind of traps are in there?" asked Sasami.

Katsuhito shook his head. "I do not know. However, I would imagine that they are quite dangerous."

"Only for normal humans, maybe," Heero heard Ryoko mutter.

"That cave gets spookier the more you talk about it," said Mihoshi.

Katsuhito chuckled. "Well, I should hope so. It is not a place to be entered lightly, after all."

"I wholeheartedly agree," said Ayeka.

"Meow," chimed in Ryo-Ohki.

 _And I see no reason to enter that cave_ , Heero thought as he looked over at Ryoko again, _Still… I've got a bad feeling about this._

….

Ryoko smiled as she passed her plate to Heero. "That was great. Thanks for dinner, Heero!"

Her handsome host nodded as he collected everyone's dishes. "You're welcome."

"I'll help you clean everything!" said Sasami as she got up from her spot on the couch.

"Thanks," said Heero, "I appreciate that, Sasami."

Ryoko watched as the two of them headed over to the kitchen. There was something about how Ayeka's younger sister was always so eager to help Heero that made Ryoko a little suspicious.

 _She's not trying to make a play for him too, is she?_ , thought Ryoko, _I mean, she looks like a kid, but… well, this is Ayeka's sister, after all. The girl's got to have a bit of deviousness in her somewhere._

After a moment Ryoko shook her head. She was being paranoid, and that definitely wasn't healthy. Sure, she could see how someone might find Sasami to be cute, but Ryoko doubted that the girl was Heero's type. He was a man who needed a more mature and experienced touch, and that was something the pirate knew that _she_ would be quite capable of providing. She was sure that her charms were growing on her host, albeit at a much slower pace than she would've liked. However, that was part of what made Heero such an interesting guy; he wasn't easily ensnared by her womanly wiles. Ryoko had to _work_ to get closer to him, and while she might be lazy more often than not she knew that Heero was definitely a guy who was worth the effort to make her way into his heart and mind.

Ryoko then glanced over at Ayeka. Now _there_ was a woman she might have to worry about when it came to possible romantic rivals. The space pirate wasn't blind; she knew that Ayeka had managed to sneak in a bit of alone time with Heero a few days ago on the island in the middle of the lake. Ayeka played the role of a demure and proper princess quite well, but the royal could be crafty when she wanted to be. The heir to the Juraian throne definitely had her eyes set on Heero, and the crash up in orbit meant that she would now have much more time to make a play for the young man's affections.

 _At least she's the only one I need to really watch out for_ , thought Ryoko, _I mean, Mihoshi might be cute, but she's also a complete airhead. I can't really see Heero going for her. Sasami's just too much of a kid, so that just leaves Ayeka. I'm doing pretty well when compared to her, though… at least I think I am._

In the romantic cold war that had developed between Ayeka and Ryoko over the course of their campaigns to win Heero's heart, every possible advantage was critical. Ryoko was constantly on the lookout for ways to set herself apart from her rival and to make inroads as far as her host's feelings were concerned, and unlike the princess she was much more willing to make bold plays. It had served her well so far, and Ryoko wanted to make another one soon.

What to do, though? Back in the city there were plenty of options available, but out here in the countryside the possibilities were more limited. Ryoko didn't know the area well enough to really have a grasp on what she could pull off, but there was one bit of information that had lingered in the back of her mind ever since that first visit to the Masaki shrine.

The cave.

A forbidden cavern with traps and possibly, if unlikely, a demon sealed at the end of it? To others that might sound like something to stay away from, but for an adventurous sort like Ryoko who thrived on pushing boundaries and breaking the rules that practically screamed 'come get me!'

 _Me and Heero in the demon cave_ , she thought, a sly smile growing on her face, _Now_ that _sounds like fun! Of course, Heero might not see it that way right off the bat, so I'm gonna have to force him into it._

A plan quickly formed in her mind, and Ryoko's smile continued to grow. It was simple and straightforward; all she really had to do was wait until Heero finished cleaning with Sasami and came back into the living room.

She looked over at the kitchen as her host and her rival's sister continued washing and drying the dishes. It would probably be just a few more minutes until they were done, but to Ryoko those few minutes would be entirely too long.

….

Ayeka smiled as Heero and Sasami walked back into the living room. "So, Sir Heero, did you have any plans for the evening?"

Heero shook his head. "I was going to check the news, unless you had another idea."

"Oh, not right now," she replied, "I'm quite all right spending the evening here, and brushing up on current events in your world would be most educational."

"Aw," said Mihoshi, "There's a show on right now that I want to watch!"

"You can watch a rerun later," said Sasami, "We're still Heero's guests, so if he wants to watch something he should get to do it.

Mihoshi hung her head. "Okay…"

It was rather amusing to watch her younger sister gently chide the Galaxy Police officer. The blonde cop should've been more mature, but to Ayeka she was anything but. It was still quite hard to picture her as a member of such a prestigious galactic organization.

Ayeka was also not faking her desire to watch the news with Heero. The more she could learn about his world, the better able she would be to hold an intelligent conversation. While Ayeka was more than happy to continue sharing information about Jurai with him, she knew that she could not rely on that as the sole topic of conversation between them. If she wanted to deepen the connection between the she had to show that she was interested in the world he was from as well, especially given just how important his duties were in it.

 _I'm quite certain Sir Heero does not watch the news for entertainment_ , she thought, _When he observed it at the apartment he seemed quite focused. He must be looking for ways that current events might impact his responsibilities as a peacekeeper._

"It'll just be for a little bit, Mihoshi," said Heero as he sat down and grabbed the remote, "I can change it over to your show later."

Mihoshi smiled at him. "Aw, thanks Heero!"

"That's rather generous of him," Azaka commented.

"Well, Sir Heero has proven to be quite a gracious host," Kamidake chimed in.

 _Indeed_ , thought Ayeka with a smile, _and when mother and father eventually learn of the great courtesy and kindness Sir Heero has shown Sasami and I they will undoubtedly wish to reward him. Oh, but how can one put a price on his generosity?_

Ayeka knew that Heero wasn't asking for any sort of compensation from her or the others, but she wanted to find some way to repay him that went beyond mere verbal expressions of gratitude. He deserved much more than that for all the trouble that he had gone through on her behalf.

She shook her head. There was no need to worry about such things right at this moment. She would have plenty of time to think of some way to reward her host beyond simple platitudes. For now it was enough to simply sit beside him and enjoy a relaxing evening.

At least, it _would_ have been enough were it not for the woman sitting on the _other_ side of Heero. Ryoko's eyes had narrowed as Heero had taken his seat between the two of them, and Ayeka did not like the look in them.

 _What the devil is she planning now?_ , she silently fumed, _It's one foul scheme after another with this witch, I swear!_

"Really?" Ryoko pouted, "You want to spend the rest of the night watching the _news_? Come on, Heero; there's something much better we can do to pass the time!"

Heero shook his head. "I think we had enough excitement at the shrine earlier."

"You mean _you_ did," said Ryoko, "You got to fight the old man again while the rest of us watched. I think it's our turn to have some fun now!"

" _Our_ turn or _yours?_ " said Ayeka, scowling at her rival, "You're hardly the generous type, Ryoko!"

Ryoko put her hands over her heart. "Ayeka, that _hurts_! I only want to help Heero enjoy the evening, and you have to go and say such _cruel_ things!"

This was ruse Ayeka was well accustomed to from Ryoko by now, and she refused to buy into her faux-wounded feelings. "They are simply a statement of fact! The only person you have any bit of generosity for is _yourself_ , Ryoko!"

"Ayeka, stop it!" cried Sasami, "There's no need for you two to fight!"

"Yeah…" said Mihoshi nervously, "We… we should all enjoy the TV right now, not argue!"

"This could be bad," said Azaka.

"It always is with these two," said Kamidake, "I do wish Princess Ayeka could be as gentle as Princess Sasami!"

Ayeka paid her guardians no mind; her fierce gaze was locked on Ryoko. "Out with it, Ryoko! What are you planning?"

"Planning?" said Ryoko in that fake shock that Ayeka so loathed about her, "Really, Ayeka, why do you have to be so paranoid?"

"I'm not paranoid if I'm correct," Ayeka quipped.

Ryoko completely brushed her off, her eyes focusing on Heero. "Come on, Heero; you need to get out of here. Staying around Ayeka's negativity isn't healthy."

"I don't plan on going anywhere tonight," said Heero, "and don't act as though you're not playing a part in this, Ryoko."

"Heero, don't be like that!" cried Ryoko, "I'm only thinking of _you_! I've thought of something _really_ fun that we could do together tonight!"

"What would that be?" asked Heero, his gaze still on the TV.

Ryoko smiled. "The cave."

 _Damn that woman_ , thought Ayeka, _I_ knew _that she would hatch something foul!_

"No!" cried Mihoshi, "That priest said that it was forbidden!"

"She's right," Sasami scolded, "We can't go in there, Ryoko!"

"I don't see a reason why we should," said Heero, "The shrine keeper's duty is to keep people out of there, and while I doubt there's really a demon in that cave I have no desire to intrude upon Masaki's responsibilities."

Ayeka nodded. "A most sensible attitude, Sir Heero."

"Come on, Heero!" said Ryoko as she put her arm around him, "Don't tell me you're not the _slightest_ bit curious about that cave! The traps, the legend… it's exciting and you know it!"

"A cave?" said Azaka, "What is this about?"

"Why do we always seem to miss out on the good stuff?" asked Kamidake.

"My feelings about the cave are irrelevant," said Heero firmly, "I have no intention of causing trouble for the shrine keeper."

"Who said anything about causing trouble for the guy?" Ryoko replied, "He's probably asleep by now anyway. All I want to do is just sneak into the cave and look around. There's no harm in that, right?"

"Perhaps," said Heero, "but it would still be rude, and after the hospitality he's shown us I have no intention of trespassing on his grounds."

Ryoko sighed and shook her head, but to Ayeka she did not look defeated. "Well, I tried to sweet talk you into it. Guess you're gonna make me do this the hard way, huh?"

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. _Now_ what was that tramp going to do?

Her question was answered a moment later when Ryoko threw her arms around Heero. That action alone was enough to get Ayeka angry, but her fury and indignation went through the roof when she saw Ryoko begin to float up off the couch, taking Heero with her.

"Ryoko, what are you doing?" cried Mihoshi.

"Cut it out, Ryoko," said Heero, his voice surprisingly calm given the circumstances.

Ryoko shook her head and smiled as she took Heero up into the air. "Nope! I'm going to make you have some fun even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming, Heero!"

"That's enough, Ryoko," said Heero firmly, but while he struggled within her grip Ryoko would not release him.

 _She's too strong, even for Sir Heero_ , Ayeka thought, _I should know that better than most, given how many times we've fought in the past. Her physical strength is quite formidable._

"Release Sir Heero at once!" Ayeka snarled, the air around her crackling with energy.

"Ryoko, let him go!" cried Sasami.

"What shall we do?" asked Azaka.

"Princess Ayeka, shall we attack?" asked Kamidake.

Ayeka wanted to give exactly that order, but since Ryoko was holding Heero there was a very good chance that he would be struck as well. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth at the realization that there was nothing she could do.

"Ryoko!" screamed Ayeka.

"Later, losers!" the pirate sneered, sticking her tongue out at Ayeka and the others before phasing through the window with Heero and flying off into the distance.

"Oh, no!" cried Sasami, "She's taking him to the cave!"

"What do we do?" asked Mihoshi.

"Well, isn't that obvious?" said Ayeka, glaring out the window, " _After her!_ "

….

There was no point in fighting Ryoko now; they were too high up in the air. That didn't stop Heero from narrowing his eyes as he looked at the woman who held him.

Ryoko smiled at him. "Hey, you're not still sore about me grabbing you like this, are you?"

"What do you think?" Heero replied.

"Lighten up, Heero!" said Ryoko, "I know you're better than this!"

"I think my reaction's perfectly reasonable," said Heero, "I did tell you that I _didn't_ want to go to the cave, after all."

"I heard you just fine," said Ryoko with a smirk, "but you need to be a bit more adventurous, Heero. I know you've got that within you; I just need to help you see it."

 _Whether I like it or not, apparently_ , Heero mused, _If Duo could see me like this he'd never let me hear the end of it…_

Despite his situation a part of Heero couldn't help but be amazed with how Ryoko had managed to keep a hold of him back inside the house. Her grip was inhumanly strong; her feminine appearance was a perfect disguise for her incredible physical power, let alone her other abilities. In terms of pure strength Heero was willing to admit that Ryoko had him decisively beat.

"Why do you suddenly want to go into this cave so badly?" asked Heero.

Ryoko winked at him. "You know me, Heero; if someone says going somewhere is forbidden then I got to check it out!"

Heero shook his head, half frustrated and half amused. "That does sound like you."

"Trust me," said Ryoko as the evening breeze blew through her hair, "you'll have fun, and the shrine keeper will be none the wiser."

Heero sighed. "I suppose it's too late to back out now. If I tried to run once we reach the ground you'd just grab me again, wouldn't you?"

Ryoko grinned. "Yup! You're fast, Heero, but you can't fly. There's no escaping me!"

"All right," said Heero, "I'll play along, but we keep this quiet and we don't disturb anything in the cave, okay?"

Ryoko winked. "No sweat. The priest is probably out like a light right now; you know how old people are. We'll check the place out and the old man will be none the wiser."

Heero nodded. "In that case do you mind setting us down?"

"We're almost there," Ryoko replied, and he was a bit surprised by how sincere her smile had become, "I'll never let you fall, Heero, so don't worry."

"All right," said Heero.

Her words actually _were_ reassuring, and despite the fact that she had basically kidnapped him mere minutes ago Heero trusted her. Ryoko was wild and impulsive, but one thing that she had definitely proven to Heero since the day that they'd met was that she really did care about him and didn't want any harm to come to him.

"You know," he said, "Ayeka's not going to take this lying down. She's probably chasing after us on foot right now."

Ryoko smirked. "Yeah, but she's got to climb all those stairs. We get to skip that part!"

"True," said Heero.

Ryoko nodded, and Heero saw that she was looking past him. "All right, there's the cave. Going down!"

Heero had no choice but to hold on tight as Ryoko went into a dive. Her grip on him remained strong and Heero knew that he wasn't in any real danger, but it was still a little unnerving to be descending like this without a parachute.

He shifted his gaze towards the shrine. All seemed quiet down there. There were no candles lit at the temple or any sort of light coming from Katsuhito's home; it looked like the old man had decided to call it a night.

 _Looks like we caught a lucky break_ , he thought, _If fortune stays with us we can hopefully keep this little adventure under wraps. Then again, if luck was on my side then I probably wouldn't be caught up in Ryoko's scheme in the first place…_

They touched down a few seconds later, much to Heero's relief. It felt good to have both feet on solid ground again, but he wasn't given much time to appreciate that; Ryoko had already grabbed his arm and was pulling him towards the entrance to the cave.

"Come on!" she said, her voice an excited whisper, "Let's do this!"

"Calm down," Heero admonished her, "We need to be careful about this."

"Relax," said Ryoko, "It's just a cave."

"Caves can be dangerous," Heero replied as they approached the entrance, "They're not to be taken lightly."

"How bad can it be?" asked Ryoko.

"Depends," said Heero, "The shrine keeper did say that this one had traps in it."

Ryoko shook her head. "Do you really believe that? I bet he just made it up as part of the legends about the cave and the demon."

"Legend or not, we still need to be on our guard," said Heero, "Even without manmade traps a cave can be a hazardous environment. We could get lost or trigger a cave-in if we're not cautious."

Ryoko smiled and put her arm around him. "Aw, are you _nervous_ , Heero? Don't worry; I'll take care of you!"

Heero shook his head and shrugged off her arm. "That's not it. I just have a realistic appreciation of potential danger, unlike you."

Ryoko smirked. "Hey, a little bit of danger's part of the fun!"

"Perhaps, but it's nice when you can at least see that danger coming," said Heero as the two of them came to a stop at the mouth of the cave, "It's pitch black in there, and you didn't exactly give me time to grab a flashlight."

Ryoko grinned. "No worries. I got this."

Before Heero could ask what she had in mind she answered his question by holding out her right hand and clenching it into a fist. A shaft of crimson energy ignited, and Heero realized that this was the energy sword she'd mentioned to him a month ago after Mihoshi had crash landed at Lake Genval. The red light of the blade was more than enough to illuminate the surrounding walls of the cave and a few meters ahead of them.

"See?" said Ryoko, "I got your light right here. Just don't touch it and you'll be fine."

Heero nodded. "All right. Lead the way."

The two of them proceeded to enter the cave. Their shadows danced on the walls in the crimson light of Ryoko's energy blade, and Heero found the experience to be rather surreal. The rock looked to be rather plain, although Heero wasn't exactly an expert geologist. He kept his eyes open for bats, but apart from him and Ryoko there didn't appear to be any signs of life in the cave so far.

"How far back do you think this goes?" she wondered aloud.

"Only one way to find out," said Heero.

Ryoko smiled. "Now that's more like it! I knew you'd get into the right attitude for this sooner or later."

"Stay focused," Heero chided her.

He hoped that she would heed his words. There was something about the cave that was giving Heero a bad vibe. The floor seemed too smooth, and so did the walls. It made their progress easier, but for some reason Heero could not name it felt rather off.

 _If the locals and the priests of the past really did fear this cave_ , he thought, _wouldn't they have taken measures to impede progress? The old man spoke of traps, and while Ryoko might dismiss that possibility I'm not ruling it out…_

His gaze wandering towards the floor, Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied a patch of rock in front of Ryoko. Like the rest of the floor it was quite smooth, but it was just a bit darker than the surrounding area… and it had a very faint, almost invisible outline.

"Ryoko, stop!" he ordered.

It was just a split second too late; her foot stepped on that patch of rock, and it sank down a few centimeters. A second later camouflaged slots on the walls behind and in front of Heero and Ryoko opened up, and out of them shot two wooden grids that formed an instant cage.

"Whoa!" said Ryoko, her eyes widening, "I guess the old man wasn't kidding about the traps!"

"Yeah," said Heero as he leaned forward to study the barrier in front of them.

Pushing on it with his hands, he then backed up a bit before giving the barrier a good kick. The wooden grid shuddered but held. However, as Heero leaned forward again he saw that several cracks had appeared in the frame around where his foot had hit it.

"It's not that strong," he said, "Give me a few minutes and I should be able to break through it."

Ryoko grinned as she held their improvised light source over her head. "I can do it faster than that. Step back, Heero!"

Heero gave her as much space as the confines of the cage would allow, and as soon as Ryoko had the clearance she took a swing with her energy sword. The crimson shaft burned right through the wood, cleanly cutting the barrier in half.

"There," she said as she hopped over the lower half before turning back towards Heero, "Piece of cake."

"Don't get cocky," he said as he joined her on the other side, "I doubt this is the last obstacle we'll face in here."

Ryoko laughed. "Bring it on!"

Apparently the cave had accepted Ryoko's challenge, because just a handful of meters passed before they somehow triggered another trap. There was a loud rumbling, and as Heero and Ryoko looked up they were shocked to see the ceiling open up and a large round boulder came rolling at them.

"You've got to be kidding me," Heero growled as he started backing up.

"Hah!" Ryoko sneered as a ball of crimson energy appeared in her left hand, "Take this!"

The red sphere flew forth and hit the heavy stone ball dead center. The boulder shattered into a thousand pieces, with Heero raising his arms and closing his eyes to protect himself from shrapnel.

"Come on!" Ryoko shouted at the cave, "Is that all you've got?"

"Glad to see you're having fun," Heero deadpanned as he brushed some rock chips and dust from his shoulders.

"Oh, yeah!" said Ryoko with a grin, "I can't wait to see what else we find in here!"

With that they ventured deeper into the cave, and it turned out that the cavern had quite a few surprises left in store for them. Trap holes, concealed dart shooters, a tar pit, a swarm of angry bats… were it not for Ryoko's powers their progress would've been much slower.

After what felt like an eternity but was probably no more than an hour or so Heero spotted a strange green glow up ahead. "What's that?"

"Beats me," Ryoko replied, "Let's go check it out!"

 _Where does she get that energy from?_ , Heero thought, _How she's still so enthusiastic about this whole expedition I haven't got a clue…_

They continued towards the mysterious emerald light, and before long they emerged in a large circular chamber. Several spires of what looked to be green crystal were arrayed around a much taller and thicker chunk of the emerald material. The central spire looked to be around four or five meters tall and at least a meter thick at the base. Patterns of circles interconnected by spokes were carved into the floor like many bicycle wheels stacked atop each other. A rope was wrapped around it, and tied to it were several white tassels that Heero recognized as traditional Shinto trappings. The light in the chamber seemed to emanate from it, and Heero was at a loss as to explain how it was giving off such a glow. They didn't even need Ryoko's energy sword to serve as illumination any more, a point illustrated by the lovely pirate extinguishing the blade a few seconds after they'd entered the room.

Ryoko whistled. "Well… didn't see this coming."

Heero nodded. "That makes two of us."

"What the hell's that giant rock in the middle?" asked Ryoko, "Do you think that's where the demon's supposed to be?"

"I don't know," Heero replied, "I'm still trying to figure out how it's giving off so much light."

"Yeah," said Ryoko, "that is pretty weird."

Taking a few steps closer, Heero realized that there was a faint outline of… _something_ within the crystal of the main spire. It was little more than a faint, ovoid shadow, but it was there all the same. It looked to be about as large as a person.

"Hey," he said, "are you seeing this?"

Ryoko nodded. "If you mean that blur inside the rock, then yeah. Glad it wasn't just me."

Approaching cautiously, Heero put his right hand on the spire. Nothing happened physically, but Heero felt a strange presence the moment his palm made contact with the rock. It was as if whatever was inside the crystal had just the faintest bit of awareness, enough to possibly know that it had company but no more than that.

 _What the hell is this?_ , he thought, _The old man… that legend couldn't possibly be true…_

As he studied the rock he felt a familiar pair of arms reach around him and squeeze his chest. At the same time he could also feel the prominent chest of his companion press against his back.

"Hey, Heero?" Ryoko whispered in his ear, "Want to have some _real_ fun?"

Heero sighed. "Ryoko, this isn't the time for your games."

Ryoko chuckled, and Heero felt his heartbeat quicken ever so slightly as her breath brushed over his ear like a soft, warm, and sensual breeze. "Why not? It's just us here, after all. You've entertained me so far with this little adventure; why not take things a bit further?"

He was saved from answering by a familiar and furious female voice. "Unhand Sir Heero at once, you fiend!"

The two of them turned around to see not just Ayeka but Mihoshi, Sasami, Azaka and Kamidake all in the entrance to the chamber. The girls looked a bit battered but otherwise in good shape, while the two royal guardians seemed to have taken a few dings and scratches on the way in. Ryo-Ohki was there as well, perched as usual atop Sasami's head.

"Damn it," he heard Ryoko mutter, "They caught up a lot faster than I thought they would."

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka as she rushed forward, "Are you all right?"

Heero nodded. "I'm fine. There's no need to worry."

"I'm glad that you're okay!" said Mihoshi as she and the others came up behind Ayeka.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Yeah!" said Sasami, "None of those traps hurt you?"

Heero shook his head. "No, although it wasn't for lack of trying on their part."

"I'm impressed, Sir Heero," said Azaka, "Considering that Ryoko kidnapped you and forced you into this cave you appear to be in remarkably good shape."

"And quite calm," said Kamidake, "It would appear that Princess Ayeka's fears were groundless."

"I will be the judge of that!" Ayeka snapped at her guardians before turning back to Heero and Ryoko.

The princess gave the pirate a withering glare. "I simply cannot believe you, Ryoko! Do you think so little of Sir Heero's hospitality that you would stoop so low as to _kidnap him_ for your amusement? You truly are the lowest of the low!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Can it, you royal bitch! I'll have you know that Heero _agreed_ to this once we were out of the house!"

"Under duress, I'm sure," Ayeka shot back, "You could have gotten him killed in any one of the foul traps in this cave!"

"I'm a bit surprised that you and the others made it through them as fast as you did," said Heero, "Ayeka, are you okay?"

Ayeka turned to him and smiled. "Oh, quite so, at least now that I know that you're safe, Sir Heero! Our path through this cave was treacherous, but the thought of physical harm could never deter my efforts to rescue you!"

"He doesn't need rescuing," said Ryoko, "You're just jealous because I was getting some alone time with him!"

Heero saw Ayeka's face flush deep red at that. " _Jealous?_ Me? Hardly! I was simply concerned for his safety, and I had good reason to be so given that you abducted him!"

"But Heero said that he was okay," Mihoshi chimed in, trying to defuse tensions, "Isn't that all that matters now?"

"Mihoshi's right," said Sasami with a smile, "We found Heero and he's not hurt! Everything's all right."

"Meow, meow!" chirped Ryo-Ohki as she nodded in agreement.

"All's well that ends well," said Kamidake.

"Yes," said Azaka, "There's no need to have a fight here."

Ayeka shook her head, glaring furiously at Ryoko. "While I am most relieved at Sir Heero's safety, I'm afraid that Ryoko's actions cannot go unanswered! She's gone too far this time!"

Ryoko smirked. "Oh, yeah? What are you going to do about it, Ayeka?"

"Something I should've done a long time ago," Ayeka growled, and Heero felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the air around the princess crackled with energy, "I'm going to beat you into submission and penitence!"

Heero saw Ryoko brace herself for action, crimson sparks emanating from her hands. "Hah! I'd like to see you try!"

"That's enough, you two!" said Heero, his voice hard and firm, "Stand down right now!"

Unfortunately his words were not enough to get either of the two ladies to back down. Ayeka's face was one of wrath and determination, and Ryoko looked focused and excited at the chance to fight her rival.

 _Damn it_ , he thought as he looked back and forth between the two women, _What am I supposed to do if I can't talk them down?_

"Ayeka…" Sasami began.

"Stay back, Sasami!" Ayeka cut her off, her gaze fixed on Ryoko, "This time I'll put that wench in her place!"

"Ryoko!" cried Mihoshi, "Don't do this!"

"Too late, Mihoshi," said Ryoko, "You'd better keep your distance unless you want to get caught in the crossfire."

"Princess Ayeka," said Azaka, "Can we be of assistance?"

"We're ready to fight at your command!" said Kamidake.

Ayeka shook her head. "No, I forbid you from interfering! I will defeat Ryoko alone!"

Ryoko chuckled. "Leaving your bodyguards on the sidelines, huh? You're gonna regret that, Ayeka!"

Ayeka stared daggers at the pirate as several small cylinders appeared around her, sparks of energy flying among them. "Hardly. Before this is over I will see you kneeling before me, humbled by the power of Jurai that flows through me!"

Heero backed up as the two women faced off. He had no idea how to stop them now, and compared to their raw power he knew that he was completely outmatched. He looked around furiously to try to find something in the chamber that might give him an edge, but nothing stood out to him apart from the central crystal spire than was illuminating the room.

His eyes narrowed as he saw the light emanating from the central spire begin to pulse. It was subtle, and since the others were focused on the impending clash between Ryoko and Ayeka he doubted any of them noticed it, but it was there all the same. Was it responding to the energy that was about to be unleashed by the two alien beauties?

 _I don't like this_ , he thought as he looked back and forth between the crystal and the two women he was supposed to be keeping under control, _I have no idea what's inside that spire… or what might happen if Ryoko and Ayeka damage it._

"Ryoko! Ayeka!" he shouted, "That's enough! Back down _now_!"

Ryoko shook her head. "Sorry, Heero. Hate to cause too much trouble for you, but I'm not backing down here!"

"Nor am I!" said Ayeka, "I sincerely apologize, Sir Heero, but I cannot allow Ryoko's actions to go unpunished!"

"Punish _this_!" yelled Ryoko as she let fly with a ball of crimson energy.

The swarm of small cylinders surrounding Ayeka coursed with lightening, and a barrier immediately engulfed the princess and blocked the attack. Ayeka grinned, but it was hardly a happy smile; she looked more like a tigress barring her fangs just before she pounced.

"You'll have to do better than _that_ , Ryoko!" she snarled.

Ryoko grinned. "Hah! You asked for it!"

Now spheres of crimson energy glowed in both of Ryoko's hands, and she launched them both at Ayeka. It wasn't just that pair of red balls either; the space pirate let fly with a rapid fire barrage.

The rain of crimson fury pounded Ayeka's barrier, but it held strong. More to the point, Ayeka didn't look the least bit concerned. Quite the contrary; her smile only grew as the bombardment continued.

"Quantity over quality?" she mocked, "That is so typical of you, Ryoko. That might work on the incompetents of the Galaxy Police, but you couldn't defeat _me_ with it in a thousand years!"

Suddenly a swarm of small cylinders appeared in the air around Ryoko. Heero only had a split second to spot them before lighting shot forth from them and engulfed the pirate. Her barrage ceased and she cried out in pain.

" _Aaagh_!" she screamed, "Damn it, you bitch!"

Ayeka cackled like a witch. "Serves you right, you foul tramp! _This_ is what you get for defying the heir to the imperial throne! I will make you _suffer_ for your insolence!"

Ayeka's face had become a rather cruel sneer, and Heero was rather taken aback by the transformation. He never would've guessed before now, but apparently Ayeka had something of a sadistic streak when her anger burned hot enough.

As much as Heero wanted to avoid taking sides in this fight though, he couldn't stand by and let Ayeka torture Ryoko. However, before he could even attempt to intervene he was surprised to see the trapped pirate suddenly smirk.

" _Suffer_?" said Ryoko, " _Please_. If you're counting on _this_ to beat me then you're in for a world of hurt!"

Her entire body suddenly glowed in crimson energy, and her scarlet sword sprang to life in her right hand. With a snarl Ryoko took a mighty swing and ripped through several of the small cylinders that were zapping her. A burst of energy a split second later that flew out from her like a shockwave annihilated the rest.

Ayeka's eyes widened in shock. "That's not possible… you should've been completely immobilized by the pain!"

"Sorry, you royal brat," said Ryoko with a fierce smile, "but I'm a lot tougher than you think I am! Why don't I give you a demonstration?"

 _I have a bad feeling about this_ , thought Heero warily.

Glancing over at the others, he saw that Mihoshi had grabbed her pistol and had it pointed in the general direction of the two combatants, but her uncertainty was clear in her expression and Heero highly doubted that she'd be able to fire on either of them. Sasami just looked despondent, and Azaka and Kamidake were as inscrutable as only artificial guardians could be. Heero was at least relieved that the four of them hadn't gotten caught in the crossfire so far, but the fight was far from over.

Turning back to the fight, Heero was surprised to see that Ryoko had floated up to the top of the central spire. She was now straddling the massive stone, and Heero didn't like the way that she was smiling at it.

Even Ayeka looked a bit nervous. "What are you doing up there?"

Ryoko chuckled as she shot a devious smirk at the princess. "Easy. I'm going to show you just how outclassed you really are, Ayeka!"

Then she reached down to grab the spire. Her body glowed with a crimson aura, and Heero saw her brow furrow in concentration. She grit her teeth, and Heero was shocked to see that the huge chunk of crystal was starting to shake.

 _She can't seriously be trying to uproot it_ , Heero thought, _She_ can't _be_ that _strong._

It looked like Ryoko was determined to prove that thought wrong. Violent tremors coursed through the spire as Ryoko pulled, and they were starting to reverberate across the rest of the chamber. The shaking grew worse with each passing second, and Heero was amazed to see the crystal actually slowly begin to rise.

"No way…" said Ayeka softly, her eyes widening.

"Unbelievable!" cried Sasami.

Atop her head, Ryo-Ohki looked rather nervous. "Meow…"

"Ryoko!" shouted Mihoshi as she shakily aimed her gun at the pirate, "P-put that down right n-now!"

"I have the distinct feeling that Ryoko will not abide by that order," Azaka commented.

"Should we try to stop her?" asked Kamidake.

"The Princess has forbidden us to get involved," Azaka replied, "Until she states otherwise we cannot intervene."

 _I don't think she's going to do that_ , Heero mused, _She seems way too proud to call on her guardians to help her in the middle of a duel with her rival._

He saw Ryoko grin as she pulled the huge chunk of crystal further out of the floor. "You'd better pray that your barriers are as strong as you think they are, Ayeka… either that or start running!"

"You're insane!" cried Ayeka, with more than a hint of fear in her voice, "Put that thing down at once! You could cause this entire chamber to collapse!"

"If you're scared then why don't you just give up and run away?" Ryoko taunted, "Don't worry, I won't brag _too_ much about how I sent you packing!"

She then looked back down at the spire she was holding, her expression turning into a grimace as she continued to lift it. "Come on, you big son of a bitch, get out of there!"

The massive rock rose still further and the vibrations began to get worse. His eyes narrowing, Heero could spot cracks starting to appear on the surface of the crystal, and that subtle pulsing light from before had suddenly become much more visible. He felt the floor tremble beneath his feet, and Heero realized that Ayeka's fears might very well be right on the money.

"Ryoko!" he shouted, "Drop that spire now!"

Ryoko shook her head as she continued to pull. "Sorry, no can do, Heero! Unless you can talk Ayeka into surrendering then I'm going to give her what she's got coming!"

"Ryoko, you have to stop!" cried Sasami, "Please!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, sounding about as alarmed as a creature like her could.

"Ryoko!" yelled Mihoshi, "Put that down or I'll have to shoot!"

Ryoko laughed. "Please, we both know that little popgun of yours can't hurt me, Mihoshi!"

"I-I'm not joking, Ryoko!" Mihoshi stammered, "This is your last warning!"

"Then you'd better hurry," Ryoko taunted her, "because I've almost got this thing out!"

She was right; Ryoko was able to lift it much faster now, and Heero was sure that it would be just a matter of moments before the crystal completely cleared the floor. The chamber was trembling so badly it might as well have been in the middle of an earthquake now, and the pulsing light and growing cracks in the spire were impossible to miss.

With one final, mighty heave Ryoko was at last able to completely free the crystal spire from the chamber floor. For a moment Heero could see a triumphant grin on her face, but that quickly transformed into surprise and confusion as the lovely pirate finally spotted the rapidly growing cracks and the ever brightening pulsing light coming from what she was holding.

"Uh-oh," she said, "I, uh… that wasn't me, right?"

"Who else could possibly have caused that, you fool?" shouted Ayeka.

"Ryoko, drop it now!" yelled Heero.

"Please!" cried Sasami, "Do it before something bad happens!"

"This looks pretty bad already!" cried Mihoshi.

" _Meow_!" Ryo-Ohki practically howled at her master.

That decision was made with no input from Ryoko; the huge chunk of rock was shaking so badly now that the pirate had no choice but to release it. Unfortunately it wasn't enough for her to simply let it go; Ryoko panicked and flung it at the wall, where it impacted quite violently with a huge crash and made a large indentation.

 _Great_ , thought Heero, _That was the last thing we needed._

"That did not look good," said Azaka.

"Indeed," chirped Kamidake.

"You idiot!" shrieked Ayeka, "Are you _trying_ to bring this cave down upon our heads?"

"Why did you do that?" cried Mihoshi.

"Hey!" shouted Ryoko, "You're the ones who wanted me to drop it! Quit whining!"

"Oh, no!" cried Sasami, pointing, "Look at it!"

Heero's eyes had never left the crystal, and it was a good thing that he was so focused on it. Even after Ryoko had released it the rock's vibrations had only continued and had now built up to a fever pitch. The entire chamber was shaking violently in response, and the light was pulsing so brightly now that it wouldn't look out of place at a rave.

 _No_ , thought Heero, _don't tell me…_

Sure enough, the crystal shattered. The rock crumbled, but the green light never faded. In fact, it now rose from the wall and hovered over the floor as an orb a little larger than a person. At the same time the tremors that were shaking the cave continued, and Heero could now see cracks forming in the walls, the floor, and the ceiling.

"We need to get out of here!" he shouted, "Now!"

He was relieved to see Ryoko nod, and the pirate flew right at him. "Don't need to tell me twice!"

Before Heero could react Ryoko had practically tackled and grabbed him before lifting him up off the ground and flying towards the exit. "Let's go!"

"Hey!" cried Ayeka, "Wait for us!"

"Run!" yelled Mihoshi.

"Hurry!" cried Sasami.

Heero had no choice but to hold on tight as Ryoko zipped through the cave at lightning speed while the others ran behind her. Looking over Ryoko's shoulder Heero could see the green ball of light following them, and the cave was starting to collapse in the background.

"Damn it," he said, "This place is falling apart."

"Hang on, Heero!" said Ryoko, flashing him a confident smile, "I'll get us out of here!"

"You'd better," Heero replied, "because if we die in here I'm going to haunt you."

"Don't forget about us," said Azaka, his voice surprisingly calm given the circumstances.

"If we're destroyed in here we'll be abject failures as guardians of the Princess," said Kamidake.

The two cylindrical guardians were actually hovering along at a pretty decent clip. Heero was sure that they could outpace Ayeka and the others that were stuck with running on foot, but they appeared to be limiting their speed in order to stay with the two princesses.

"Good thing we cleared all those traps earlier," said Ryoko, "Otherwise this would be a lot harder!"

"Like things aren't bad enough as it is," Heero deadpanned as Ryoko dodged a chunk of rock falling from the ceiling.

"Hey," Ryoko pouted, "how was I supposed to know that lifting up that crystal would cause the cave to start collapsing?"

"Ignorance is not an excuse," Heero replied, "You were holding that thing, so you should've noticed much sooner what was happening while you were lifting it. If you'd put it down sooner we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Chew me out _after_ we get out of here!" yelled Ryoko.

"Believe me, I plan on it," said Heero.

Looking back, Heero was relieved to see that Ayeka and the others were still in one piece. However, he was concerned that the floating green ball of light was still in pursuit and showed no signs of giving up.

"I might have to hold off on chewing you out," said Heero, "Whatever that light is might be a problem."

"What do you want me to do?" asked Ryoko as she evaded a series of falling rocks.

"If it's hostile, fight it," Heero replied, "Beyond that I have no idea."

Ryoko nodded. "We'll see what happens."

"Works for me," said Heero, "If we get out of here alive."

Ryoko smiled. "Don't worry, we will."

Her confidence was reassuring, and when combined with her power it seemed reasonable. Of course, her _overconfidence_ and her power had helped kick off this whole mess to begin with.

He saw Ryoko nod again. "There's the exit. We're almost there!"

Heero nodded. "Hurry."

"Hold on tight!" yelled Ryoko as she sped up for the home stretch.

"Wait for us, you fiend!" he heard Ayeka shout in the background.

"Come on!" cried Sasami, "We can make it!"

" _Meow!_ " shrieked Ryo-Ohki.

"I don't want to die in here!" screamed Mihoshi.

A few seconds later Heero felt a rush of fresh air as Ryoko flew out of the cave. She carried him a few meters beyond the exit before she landed and set him down. It felt _very_ good to have solid ground beneath his feet again.

Ryoko grinned at him. "Whew! How's _that_ for a rush?"

"It was one that I could've done without," said Heero as he looked at the cave entrance, waiting for the others to escape.

He was relieved to see Ayeka and the others not too far from the entrance now. Apart from a few scuffs and bruises they all appeared to be okay. He couldn't see the green ball of light that had been pursuing them earlier; had it given up or been extinguished by falling rocks?

He had no time to ponder the matter further thanks to Ryoko. "Uhm, Heero? We got company."

Turning around, Heero saw none other than Katsuhito. The shrine keeper was looking at them with his arms folded, but to Heero's surprise he looked incredibly calm given that he and Ryoko had just come out of a cave that they weren't supposed to be in to begin with. In fact, he seemed to look almost _amused_ at the whole spectacle.

"Well, now," he said with a smile, "You two are out late. Seems you've had a rather interesting adventure, haven't you?"

Heero looked at Ryoko, and the pirate shrugged at him. Cleary the ball was in his court.

However, before Heero could even think of what to say to the old man Ayeka and the others came rushing out of the cave. No sooner had Ayeka and Sasami stopped to catch their breaths when Mihoshi barreled right into them and knocked them to the ground.

"Ow!" cried Sasami, "Mihoshi!"

"Watch where you're going, woman!" yelled Ayeka, "Seriously, as if that cave weren't bad enough…"

"Meow…" groaned Ryo-Ohki, who had the misfortune of being underneath Ayeka.

As the three ladies and the cat-rabbit worked to untangle themselves from each other Heero saw Azaka and Kamidake floating out of the cave. That presented a whole new set of problems. It was bad enough that Heero had to try to find some way to explain this whole incident to the shrine keeper, but trying to find a way to mask Azaka and Kamidake's true nature and by extension that of his guests was going to be a tall order considering that they were hovering right in front of Katsuhito.

 _I just exposed my neighbor to the secret that Preventers has been trying to keep ever since these girls showed up_ , he thought, _Lady Une will go through the roof when she hears about this…_

"Are you all doing okay?" asked the priest, "It would seem that you've had a rough time of it."

Heero was taken aback by the shrine keeper's concern. Given that he and the others had just come out of a cave that Katsuhito was sworn to guard and keep others from entering the Preventers operative had figured that the old man would be furious, but Heero couldn't detect so much as a hint of anger in the priest.

Not knowing what else to do, Heero simply nodded. "I think we're all okay."

"Yeah," said Ryoko, who was clearly trying quite hard not to smile; apparently she still hadn't come off of the adrenaline rush she'd gotten from flying out of the cave with Heero in her arms.

"I believe so," said Ayeka as she stood up.

"Uh-huh," said Sasami before turning to her furry companion, "Are you okay, Ryo-Ohki?"

The cat-rabbit nodded. "Meow, meow!"

"We're alive!" said Mihoshi triumphantly.

"It would appear that the worst is behind us," said Azaka.

"Thank goodness!" Kamidake chirped, "We were in real trouble there for a moment, weren't we?"

 _Damn it_ , thought Heero, _those two just had to start talking. Now how am I supposed to explain what they are to the old man?_

Much to his surprise Heero saw the shrine keeper chuckle. "I don't think you're out of the woods yet."

For a moment the Preventers operative thought the priest had merely meant that they would now have to deal with him, but Heero quickly realized that Katsuhito's gaze was actually focused past them. Turning around, Heero had to fight the urge to swear as he saw that green ball of light from before, hovering just outside the cave entrance.

"Uh-oh," said Ryoko, "That doesn't look good."

"What is that thing?" asked Sasami.

"It's the demon!" cried Mihoshi.

"Calm down!" Ayeka chided her, "You won't do us much good panicking like that!"

Ryo-Ohki hissed and barred her fangs at the ball of light. It was quite a stark contrast from her usual happy and cute demeanor. She looked ready to tear that orb apart, although Heero doubted she could really do much without transforming into her ship form, and he was _really_ hoping to avoid that.

 _What am I supposed to do about this?_ , he thought, _Is it hostile? After that rude awakening Ryoko gave it I wouldn't be surprised if it was…_

Heero took a step forward to prepare for a possible confrontation, but he was surprised when Ryoko actually moved in front of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Keeping you from getting into anymore trouble because of me," said Ryoko, looking over her shoulder and smiling at him, "I know that I started this, so if this thing wants a fight because of me it'll have it, but only with me; you're not the one at fault here, so I'm not going to let you get hurt."

Heero was more than a bit taken aback by her word. He didn't see Ryoko as the type of woman to really take responsibility for her actions like this, let alone put herself on the line to shield someone else from the consequences.

She wasn't the only one who was apparently ready for a fight; none other than Ayeka had moved beside Ryoko to face off against the strange ball of light.

"Ayeka?" said Heero, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

The princess nodded and smiled at him. "Fear not, Sir Heero; you are under my protection!"

Ryoko chuckled. "Huh. You sure about this?"

"You and I will settle things between us on our own time," Ayeka replied firmly, "If this strange object is a threat then I would just as soon deal with it now, and if I must align myself with the likes of you to do so then so be it. I will not allow Sir Heero to come to harm due to the consequences of your actions, Ryoko!"

"Hold on, you two," said Heero, "We still don't know if this thing's a threat yet."

"Perhaps," said Ayeka, "but I refuse to take any chances!"

Heero didn't know if it was in response to the two women or acting completely on its own, but the bright green orb began to pulse with rapidly increasing intensity. It soon became so bright that Heero and the others had no choice but to shield their eyes. Even then the glare was nearly blinding.

It was in that moment that Heero heard a voice. "Ah, damn it! How long was I in there? I've got _such_ a crick in the neck!"

 _Hold on_ , he thought as he cautiously opened his eyes, _Is that… a woman?_

Heero heard Katsuhito chuckle. "Well, now, what have we here?"

That was a very good question, and the closest answer Heero had for it was a rather short and slender woman. Her red-pink hair appeared to be tied in a ponytail, but even with that measure of restraint it still had a rather wild look to it. The same went for her green eyes; there was a spark of energy in them that looked like it could swing towards genius or madness at the drop of a hat, and that was despite her stretching her arms and neck like someone who had just gotten up after falling to sleep in an awkward position. Her robe, tunic and leggings gave her a slightly exotic appearance, and they were in remarkably pristine condition for someone who'd apparently been asleep in them for a while.

She continued to stretch for a moment, apparently oblivious to the crowd that was gathered before her. "Ugh… they could've at least made that thing a little more comfortable. I feel like hell…"

"Is… is she really a demon?" asked Mihoshi softly.

Unfortunately it wasn't softly enough. Those words more than got the woman's attention, and she wasted no time in glaring at the group that was watching her.

"Hey!" she snapped, "Who's calling who a demon? Show some damn respect!"

"We're sorry," said Heero as he stepped quickly between Ryoko and Ayeka, wanting to get between this woman and the others before things really got dicey, "We just weren't expecting to find… well, _you_ in that cave."

The woman looked at him, and the light Heero had spotted in her emerald eyes earlier seemed to grow just a bit brighter as she gave him a rather haughty smile. "Well, I guess I can forgive you this time, provided that you show me the deference that someone with my stature and reputation deserves!"

"Uhm, who are you?" asked Sasami.

The red-head's eyes widened in shock as she looked at the younger princess. "Wait, you can't be serious, right? You gotta know who I am!"

Sasami shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't."

Mihoshi shook her head as well. "Me neither."

"That makes three of us," said Ryoko, looking rather puzzled at this new development.

Ayeka put her hand on her chin. "Hmmm… there's a vague familiarity about you… but alas, I cannot place it."

"I have no recollection of this woman whatsoever," said Azaka.

"Likewise," Kamidake chimed in.

The strange woman groaned. "Aaagh, you've got to be kidding me! Where did I freaking land, the sticks? And how long have I been stuck out here?"

Katsuhito smirked. "Well, if the legends about this cave were actually referring to you, miss, then I'm afraid you've been asleep for many centuries."

The red-head sighed. "That long, eh? Well, I guess it could be worse. At least I landed on a planet with a breathable atmosphere and relatively intelligent life."

"Relatively?" said Heero, folding his arms.

The woman smiled at him. "Now, now, no hard feelings, handsome. It's hard for _anyone_ to compete with the likes of an intellect like mine! Since you and your friends got me out of there I'll cut you some slack. Well, except for the one that was shaking me around like a damn rattle! You could've freaking killed me!"

"I'm starting to wish that I had," Ryoko muttered.

"Pardon me, miss," said Ayeka, "I hate to seem like a rude sort, but… who exactly _are_ you?"

The woman smirked. "Well, I guess I'd better clue you in. Can't have you wallowing ignorance forever!"

She folded her arms and grinned. "I am the most respected and revered researcher in the universe, the queen of scientists across the galaxy, the pinnacle of intelligence in all fields that I partake in! I am the one, the only, the beautiful and brilliant Washu!"

As if that bombastic boast wasn't enough, capping off the display were two tiny robot replicas of the woman, dressed like cheerleaders, who suddenly appeared on her shoulders. Both had yellow dresses on, with a red 'W' emblazoned on the front of them.

"Washu, you're amazing!" chirped the robot on her left shoulder.

"The greatest genius in the universe!" cried the one on her right.

"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha!" she cackled, looking quite pleased with herself.

She smiled at Heero and the others as she laughed, while their collective reaction was one of complete bemusement at her display. How was _anyone_ supposed to respond to something like that?

 _An egomaniac of a scientist from outer space, sealed in a cave and cast as a demon by superstitious locals_ , Heero thought, _Yup, it's official; I've seen everything now._

Eventually Washu stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow as she looked at Heero and the other. "Really? That didn't get _anything_ out of you guys?"

Heero shook his head. "Sorry, but I've never heard of you."

"Me neither," said Mihoshi.

"I've got nothing," said Ryoko.

"Hey, Ayeka?" said Sasami, "Have you heard of her before?"

Ayeka's brow furrowed in thought. "Perhaps…"

Her eyes then widened as she looked at Washu again. "No, wait… you're _the_ Washu Hakubi? The most notorious mad scientist in the history of the universe? The one that the Galactic Institution of Science captured and condemned to exile in a stasis pod for building weapons of monstrous power and destruction?"

Washu's eyes narrowed. "Hey, watch it! You're making me sound like the bad guy in all of this!"

"The title 'mad scientist' might have something to do with that," Ryoko muttered.

"Oh, goodness," said Azaka, "A legendary mad scientist in our midst. I fear what this might portend to."

"It certainly does not bode well for us," fretted Kamidake.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, who was fidgeting in Sasami's arms.

"Ryo-Ohki," said Sasami, "What is it?"

"Meow, meow!" she cried, and it looked like she was trying to get to Washu.

Sasami put her down on the ground, and the cat-rabbit cautiously approached the red-head. Washu smiled in recognition.

"Well, now," she said as she leaned down and patted the creature on the head, "I haven't seen you in a long time! How've you been, Ryo-Ohki?"

" _Meow_!" the cat-rabbit cried in what appeared to be joy.

Ryoko's eyes widened. "Wait a sec, you _know_ her, Ryo-Ohki?"

Ryo-Ohki eagerly nodded. "Meow! Meow!"

"Of course she knows me," said Washu, "After all, I created her and the rest of her species."

Ryoko looked floored. " _What?_ "

"Really?" asked Sasami.

"You cannot be serious," said Ayeka.

"That's amazing!" cried Mihoshi.

"You're not joking around here, right?" asked Heero.

"Young man," said Washu, "I can assure you that I never joke when it comes to my work. In fact… I think there's more than one of my creations here."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ryoko.

Washu grinned as she took a step closer to the pirate. "I'm talking about _you_. Oh, yes; I _definitely_ remember you. You've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you, Ryoko."

Ryoko backed up. "What the hell? You've lost your mind!"

Washu folded her arms. "Hey, that's no way to talk to your mother!"

Heero blinked and shook his head. He couldn't _possibly_ have heard that right.

"Sorry," he said, "but can you say that again?"

Washu smiled at him. "Sure thing, handsome. I created both Ryo-Ohki _and_ Ryoko, which makes me her mother."

Heero's reaction was considerably understated when compared to those of the others. Ryoko looked like her jaw was about to hit the floor, Ayeka and Sasami were paler than ghosts, and Mihoshi's eyes were wider than dinner plates. The only person that seemed completely unfazed by that revelation, not counting Azaka and Kamidake, was Katsuhito. If anything he seemed to be more amused than anything else.

"You… you've _got_ to be kidding!" said Ryoko, emphatically shaking her head, "How the hell can _you_ be my mother?"

"I just told you how, silly," said Washu, "I created you, just like I created Ryo-Ohki and the rest of her species. It might not have been through natural means, but I can assure you that I am the one responsible for your birth."

Sasami smiled. "Wow! I can't believe you're Ryoko's mom! Ryoko, that's amazing!"

Mihoshi sniffed. "I can't believe you hadn't met your mother until now, Ryoko… that's so sad!"

"A mad scientist for a mother…" Ayeka muttered, "Well, I suppose that would explain a few things…"

Washu smirked as she looked at Ryoko. "Look at you; you're taller than I am. Got a bigger rack, too. Bet you've been popular with the boys the past few centuries, haven't you?"

Ryoko looked somewhere between flustered and ticked off. "You… "

 _The past few centuries?_ , Heero thought as he studied Ryoko, _Just how old is she? She clearly left that part out when she was telling me about her past. Then again, I didn't ask for age…_

After a few moments Heero saw Ryoko huff and fold her arms. "Well, I still don't believe it. As if a pipsqueak like _you_ could be my mother!"

Washu's eyes narrowed, and there was a brief glint of devious light in them that did not bode well. With a wave of her hand a transparent keypad appeared out of thin air. She rapidly typed a few keys on it, and a flash of light engulfed Ryoko and forced Heero and the others to shield their eyes.

 _What the hell did she do?_ , he thought as he slowly opened them.

He looked around for Ryoko, and quickly found her…

… in a significantly different form.

She was less than a meter tall now, and looked like a child version of herself. That wasn't the weirdest part, though. Her hands and feet were green and webbed, like those of an amphibian, and her mouth had become distinctly frog-like in appearance.

Ryoko opened her changed mouth to speak, but apparently coherent language was no longer possible for her. "Ribbit… ribbit? Ribbit, ribbit!"

Washu chuckled. " _Now_ who's the pipsqueak, dear? You really should show your mother some respect, you know?"

Mihoshi smiled. "Aw, she's so cute!"

"She's adorable!" said Sasami as she knelt down next to Ryoko, who did not look the least bit grateful for the attention.

Katsuhito chuckled. "Now that is quite an interesting trick, Miss Washu! A very unique talent, I'm sure."

Washu smirked. "Oh, it was nothing. I just did some tweaking with her genetic structure. The fundamental building blocks of life are my bitch!"

"Poor Ryoko," said Kamidake, "I hope she's alright!"

"She does not appear to be harmed," said Azaka, "Although I highly doubt that she is pleased with her new form."

Ayeka put her hand to her mouth and laughed. "Oh, what a most amusing spectacle this is! A bit of a childish trick, but quite entertaining!"

Washu glared at Ayeka, and before Heero could warn the princess the mad scientist's fingers flew across the keyboard again. There was another flash of light, and when the dust settled Ayeka was now in the same predicament as Ryoko.

"Ribbit… ribbit?" she croaked, "Ribbit! _Ribbit_!"

"Call _my_ work _childish_ , will you?" said Washu, folding her arms, "Perhaps this will teach you to appreciate my genius!"

"Princess Ayeka!" cried Kamidake.

"What shall we do?" said Azaka.

 _That's a very good question_ , mused Heero.

Having gotten over her initial shock, Ryoko pointed and laughed at Ayeka, or as much as she was able to laugh with her mouth the way it was. Ayeka responded with a glare and a slap, and before Heero knew it the mini-pirate and mini-princess were rolling around on the ground like two kids in a schoolyard scuffle.

"Now, now, you two!" said Mihoshi as she grabbed both of them and pulled them apart, "You shouldn't be fighting!"

"That's right!" said Sasami, grinning, "Come on, you're both in the same form now, so you should try to get along!"

Both frog-Ryoko and frog-Ayeka glared at the two girls and at each other, clearly ready to go right back at it at the first opportunity. While it was a relief to see that they apparently couldn't call upon their powers to fight each other in this state, Heero knew that he couldn't let them remain like this forever.

"Miss Washu," he said cautiously, trying to avoid suffering the same fate as Ryoko and Ayeka, "While I can appreciate seeming them both humbled like this, is there any way that you could possibly change them back? It is my responsibility to look after the two of them, after all."

Washu nodded. "Oh, sure, it'll be easy to restore them to their original forms."

Heero nodded. "Good. Thank you."

Washu smirked. "However… before I do that, I want something from _you_ , handsome."

Heero did not like the look in her eyes one bit. "What would that be?"

The red-headed scientist smiled playfully at him. "Could you call me Little Washu?"

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Heero: Given the trend of the last few chapters, I'm sure none of you are surprised that Washu's now taking up residence with me and the girls._

 _Ryoko: Oh, come on, Heero! You can't let her stay in the same house as me!_

 _Ayeka: Sir Heero, much as I hate to question your judgment, are you sure that this is wise?_

 _Heero: She didn't exactly give me a choice in the matter._

 _Washu: Hey, Heero? Mind if I set up shop here?_

 _Heero: That's a closet, Washu._

 _Washu with an evil grin: Not for long!_

 _Mihoshi: Oh, wow! It's so big in here now!_

 _Sasami: How did you do that, Washu?_

 _Washu: Oh, it's easy to manipulate dimensions when you're the biggest genius in the universe! Now, get out of my laboratory!_

 _Heero: I don't know if this house is going to survive its newest resident…_

 _Meanwhile, in outer space…_

 _Kiyone: Galaxy Police Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi, reporting for duty, sir!_

 _Random Galaxy Police officer: Detective Kiyone, good to see you. We've detected a signal coming from a small system in the Outland Sector. It appears to be of Galaxy Police origin, and it might be your partner's distress beacon. Go investigate it at once._

 _Kiyone: Wait… Outland Sector… my partner… Mihoshi? No… no, no, no,_ _ **NO!**_

 _Ryoko: Next time, in Chapter Seven: No Need For Partners!_

 _Kiyone:_ _ **Please**_ _don't let Mihoshi be alive!_

 **Author's Notes:** All right, the story's moving forward! With the next chapter the final member of the main harem will arrive on the scene! Luckily for Heero she'll actually be a sane roommate, which is much more than can be said for the crazy ladies he's had to deal with so far.

I'm sure some of you are raising eyebrows at Katsuhito's inclusion in this fic despite the complete lack of Tenchi Masaki. Let me just say this now; I have a plan, and all will be revealed in due time. There's a reason he's here, and I'll leave it at that. And no, still no Tenchi in this fic, nor will he be showing up at all in the story.

Well, thanks for reading the chapter. Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** Hi there, everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it! Got another long chapter here, and I can't promise that they'll get shorter anytime soon.

As you all know from the preview in the last chapter, this installment will introduce Mihoshi's partner, Kiyone! That being said, her intro's not the only thing going on here. Like I said before, I'm bringing in elements from both Tenchi Universe and the original Tenchi Muyo series for this fic, and you should be able to spot some of them as you go through the chapter. At the same time I'm still adding my own original content as well, and it's all going to come together later on in the story once the action leaves Earth.

Of course, that's still quite a ways off. For now, sit back and enjoy the show!

 **Chapter Seven: No Need For Partners!**

 **October 12** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Leaning back in her chair, Lady Une looked out the plane window and shook her head. "Another one, and right under our noses this whole time… I still can't believe it."

Across from her she saw Sally smirk. "Yeah, and another woman to boot. Heero's got some crazy luck. He owes me big time for not telling Duo yet about his growing collection of alien ladies."

Despite her stress, Lady Une could not help but smile. "He does indeed."

The two of them were travelling aboard a jet belonging to the Preventers. They'd left Brussels as soon as it had been practical, but Lady Une was already worrying that the more than twenty-four hour time period between Heero's report and their departure might've been too much. Who could say how events had developed at Heero's safe house since then?

"What really surprised me was what Heero mentioned in his report about the link between Washu and Ryoko," said Sally, "What kind of freakish coincidence is it that Ryoko just so happens to meet her mother out here? The odds of that happening couldn't be seen with a microscope!"

"That's not all," said Lady Une, "If what Heero said about that cave is true, then Washu's been sealed in there for several centuries at the minimum. What does that say about Ryoko's age?"

Sally smirked. "Well, I'd say that she's looking pretty good for being at least a few hundred years old."

Lady Une sighed. "Sally, the implications here are nothing to be joking around about."

Sally nodded. "I know. Come on, Lady; how long have we known each other now? You know that I can take things seriously and still look at them with a bit of humor."

Lady Une gave her a tired smile. "I know. Sorry. I'm just a little frazzled right now. It feels like we only just got done dealing with that crash in the Ardennes, and now this drops into our laps. One alien woman after another… life just gets crazier and crazier."

"I hear you there," Sally replied, "I'm still amazed that we've been able to keep the whole thing under wraps."

"This one should be easier than the other women," said Lady Une, "After all, this one didn't involve a crashing ship. Heero and the others found her in a cave."

"Yeah," said Sally, "but unlike the others we now have a witness who knows beyond a doubt that we're dealing with aliens here."

Lady Une sighed. "The priest… I'm still not sure what to do about that."

"We might've gotten lucky with regards to that, actually," said Sally with a smile, "From what Heero said in his report it sounds like this Katsuhito was remarkably calm about the whole thing. In fact, it looks like he took it all in stride."

Lady Une's brow furrowed. "Yes, and that's not what I expected. One of the biggest reasons we've been keeping the existence of Ryoko and the others under wraps is because we've been worried about the potential reaction from the religious community. This Katsuhito is the keeper of a Shinto shrine; exactly the type of person we'd hoped to keep out of the loop."

Sally shook her head. "I think you might be lumping him in with the more hardcore figures that we've been stressing over. From what I understand he doesn't seem like some fire-and-brimstone preacher. We might have some room for flexibility with him."

"I hope you're right," Lady Une replied.

"In the meantime," said Sally, "I'm more concerned about Washu. The fact that Heero saw fit to include the term 'mad scientist' in his description of her does not exactly bode well."

Lady Une nodded. "I agree, but there's opportunity there as well. The study of Mihoshi's crashed ship and Sasami's vessel alone has already had a huge impact on our covert research. Ultimately our findings from those investigations could send our technology leaping forward by the order of centuries. This Washu might be able to provide us with even more ground-breaking knowledge."

"That's if she's willing to cooperate," said Sally, "We haven't exactly established that she's friendly yet."

Lady Une smiled. "True, but Heero does seem to have a way with all the women he's encountered so far in this little adventure of ours. Perhaps he can convince this Washu to help us."

"It'd be nice," Sally replied, "but I'm not ready to bet on that yet. According to Heero, the legends about that cave seemed to refer to her as an imprisoned demon. I'm not saying that she _is_ a demon, but it looks to me like someone did go through a considerable effort to keep her locked away in there."

Lady Une nodded. "That's true. At the very least it sounds like she's a criminal. Do you think that she's a genuine threat?"

Sally shrugged. "It's possible. I want to know why she's out here and how she ended up imprisoned in that cave. If she's been out here for several centuries then she would've landed while the people out here had nothing more than spears, swords, and bows and arrows. It's hard to see how they would've been able to subdue someone from beyond out world."

"In his report Heero said that Ayeka had mentioned Washu being sealed in some kind of stasis pod when she was exiled," said Lady Une, "If that is true then it's likely that the natives simply found her already trapped in her pod."

Sally smiled. "That makes sense. Given the state of their culture back then the locals must not have had a clue as to what to make of her. Religion and superstition probably kicked in, they labeled her a demon, and they locked up her pod in that cave. Washu would've been in no position to offer any kind of resistance."

"Yes," said Lady Une, "and she's quite fortunate that the locals didn't try to destroy her pod."

"Maybe they did try but were unable to do that with what they had to work with," said Sally, "The thing's destroyed now thanks to Ryoko, so it's not like we'll have a chance to study it."

Lady Une sighed. "Yes. Quite unfortunate, that. The technology that must've composed a device like that would be invaluable to us, especially with our new colonization efforts on Mars."

"If we're lucky, maybe she'll be able to give us the designs for it," said Sally.

"Perhaps," said Lady Une, "We still don't know what exactly her primary discipline is. Asking her for a project without understanding her area of expertise would be premature of us."

Sally chuckled. "Yeah. Maybe we should hold off on that until we have a better idea as to her intentions now that she's free."

Lady Une nodded. "Yes, I think that would be prudent."

The Director of Preventers looked back out the window. "An alleged pirate, two princesses, a police officer, a living starship, and now a mad scientist, all in the care of our best operative… I couldn't make this up if I tried."

Sally smiled. "I hear you there. Heero's life has been turned completely upside down by all this, and ours have been thrown for a loop too. Who knows what's going to come next, right?"

"Yes," said Lady Une, "Everything's become so unpredictable ever since Ryoko and Ayeka showed up. It feels like the arrival of those two opened up the floodgates for something big… and I have a feeling that we're nowhere near the end of it yet."

"I wonder if Heero's got that feeling too," said Sally.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Lady Une replied.

….

Ryoko groaned as she struggled against her bindings. "Damn it! Washu, let me out of here!"

Somewhere out of her line of sight she heard the demented red-head laugh. "Call me 'Mommy' first, and I'll think about it!"

Ryoko scowled. "No! Besides, what kind of mother straps her daughter to a table like this?"

"The kind that wants to do a checkup," Washu replied, "Since you're an outlaw I highly doubt that you've been to any decent doctors over the centuries that I was sealed away. It's a mother's duty to make sure her daughter's healthy. Don't you feel so lucky to know that _your_ mother is the greatest genius in the universe? You've got the best doctor in existence to keep you healthy!"

Ryoko growled. "Even if I did believe that, which I _don't_ … did you have to take my clothes off for this?"

"Quite complaining," said Washu absently, "I let you keep your underwear on, didn't I? You should be thanking me for that!"

Ryoko wasn't exactly a modest girl, but she couldn't help but blush at how exposed and vulnerable she felt right now. Her only saving grace was that Heero wasn't in the laboratory with her and Washu at the moment. Ryoko was all for showing off her body to her handsome guardian, but she'd rather it be under better circumstances than this.

 _Damn it_ , she thought, _this is_ so _embarrassing! I should've listened to Heero; I wish I'd never gone anywhere_ near _that damn cave!_

If she hadn't then Washu certainly would never have had the chance to set up shop in Ryoko's new home. The devious red-head had chosen the strangest of places to carve out for herself in the residence; a closet. It was the one downstairs, close to the front door. It had originally been intended for coats and shoes, but Washu had swiftly commandeered it and put it through a _considerable_ renovation.

Ryoko had no idea how Washu had done it; the red-head had spun some techno babble about linking the closet to an alternate dimension, but the pirate hadn't really gotten the gist of it. In the end she supposed it didn't matter _how_ Washu had pulled it off, only that where the downstairs coat and shoe closet had once been was now a lab the size of which Ryoko had yet to fully determine. She wasn't exactly in a position to do so right now anyway, seeing as how she was strapped to a cold steel table wearing nothing but her black bra and panties. She'd bought them using Heero's money on their shopping trip a while back, and while she'd always imagined showing them off to him someday she found herself praying to whatever deities might exist that he did not walk into Washu's lab and see her in them right at this moment.

Ryoko continued to struggle against her bindings, but it was no use; she couldn't make as much as a crack in them. To make matters worse she'd found herself unable to use any of her powers; no doubt more of Washu's tricks at work. The fact that she'd somehow found a way to neutralize Ryoko's powers was an uncomfortable bit of evidence for the lovely pirate that the maniacal scientist was actually telling the truth about her part in Ryoko's origins.

 _If she really_ is _my mother_ , she thought, _then I do_ not _want to know who my father is. Then again, if she made me artificially I might not even have one. That's probably a good thing…_

Ryoko sighed. "Come on, just get it over with."

Washu appeared to the right of her with a triumphant grin on her face. "Hah! I knew you would surrender eventually!"

Ryoko looked away, determined not to make eye contact with her. "Are you going to rub it in or are you going to do your stupid exam already?"

"Oh, relax," said Washu as she walked over to a nearby console, "You don't have to be so grumpy about it?"

"Says the lunatic who stunned me, stripped me, and strapped me to this damn table," Ryoko grumbled.

"Chill out," said Washu, "This'll be over before you know it."

She fiddled with a knob and pressed a few buttons, and Ryoko heard some mechanical sounds above her. Looking up, Ryoko's apprehension increased as she saw what looked like a black sphere mounted on a steel arm descending towards her.

"Washu?" she said nervously, "What is that thing?"

"What's the matter?" Washu chuckled, "Scared?"

Ryoko glared at her. "You're not helping!"

"Calm down," said Washu, "It's just a scanner. I'm not planning on anything invasive. Well, not today, anyway."

"That's comforting," Ryoko deadpanned.

The black device lowered until it was less than half a meter above her. A small silver cylinder extended out from it by a few centimeters. Just a few seconds later Ryoko was forced to close her eyes as a bright green light shone forth from that cylinder.

"Damn it!" she said, "Are you trying to blind me, Washu?"

"Quit whining," Washu replied, "It'll be over before you know it."

A few seconds later Ryoko opened her eyes. She saw that the light had moved on from her face and was working its way down the rest of her body. Ryoko didn't feel anything, but that still didn't change the fact that the whole procedure made her deeply uncomfortable.

Matters weren't helped by Washu looking at a screen and smiling. "Hmmm… very nice."

"For a mom you're acting incredibly creepy," said Ryoko.

"You're not just my daughter," said Washu, "You're one of my prized creations. I'm allowed to admire my handiwork."

"You're not making me feel any better about this," Ryoko quipped.

At least it looked like the whole thing was almost done. The scanner had already passed her hips and was working its way down her legs. Ryoko could only hope that whatever data Washu got from all this she kept private. The last thing she wanted was Ayeka getting dirt on her.

After the device got all the way down to the end of the table the green light disappeared and the silver cylinder retracted. A few seconds later the arm holding the black sphere began to ascend, and Ryoko heard a 'click' as her restraints came undone.

"There," said Washu, "All finished, and from what I've got here it looks like you're in perfect health! See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Ryoko immediately hopped off of the table. "Where are my clothes?"

Washu pointed off to the right. "Over there. Aren't you going to thank me?"

"Not a chance," Ryoko replied as she hurriedly retrieved her clothes and got dressed.

Washu sighed and shook her head. "Kids these days… so ungrateful."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't go around stripping and tying up your own daughter!" Ryoko snapped.

Washu folded her arms. "Do you _want_ me to stun you again? I've got no problem knocking you out and performing some more _invasive_ examinations. I could even ask Heero to help me out. Then again, I could also get him on that table too. I wouldn't mind giving _him_ a checkup. What do you say? I'd be willing to let you watch!"

Ryoko flushed red at the prospect. "Leave him out of this!"

Washu laughed. "What's the matter? You don't want me getting my hands on your lover boy?"

"It's not like that!" Ryoko yelled.

Washu rolled her eyes. "Right. Don't think that I haven't noticed the way you look at him. Not that I can blame you; that boy is one handsome specimen! Maybe I should get in on that action…"

"You stay away from him!" Ryoko snapped.

Washu smirked. "What are you going to do if I don't?"

Ryoko growled. "I don't know right now, but I promise you it won't be pretty."

Wash shrugged. "Whatever. If you keep hanging around here I might put you back on that table for another round."

That was all the incentive Ryoko needed to get out of there. "You got lucky last time. If you try that crap again I'll be ready for you!"

Washu gave her a devious smile. "Keep telling yourself that. Stay out of trouble now!"

 _Damn it_ , thought Ryoko as she hurried toward the exit, _Why did she have to move in with us? What did I do to deserve this?_

….

Washu leaned back in her chair, still smiling as Ryoko scampered out of the lab. "Ah… that was fun!"

Maybe _some_ aspects of the checkup hadn't been entirely necessary. The scanner would've worked just fine had she let Ryoko keep all her clothes on, for starters. However, Washu had been cooped up in that damn stasis pod for so long that her more childish instincts were eager to make up for lost time. It had been completely worth it to see her daughter so freaked out on the table, and her reaction when Washu had suggested doing the same thing to Heero had been absolutely perfect.

For all her joking though, Washu had been serious about wanting to examine Ryoko. It wasn't just due to the desire to check up on what she considered to be one of her prized creations. For all her playfulness, Washu really did care about Ryoko and truly did consider her to be her daughter. Had circumstances been different she would never have abandoned her and left her with Ryo-Ohki all those centuries ago, but the forces Washu had been up against included more than just the old bags of skin and bones that were the GIS Justices; some very powerful enemies had been after her work, and the scientist had had to go to incredible lengths to keep her secrets out of their hands. Ryoko was one of them, and that was another reason why Washu had wanted to examine her; she needed to know if this component of her plans remained in play.

 _A few centuries, or even a millennium, is just a drop in the flow of time's river_ , she thought, _For someone like me, they pass by all too quickly. However, a lot can happen even in that short time span. The fact that a world like this remains free and that my pod wasn't discovered until now may be a blessing; it looks like events haven't escalated too badly in my absence._

What had been truly surprising upon her waking up was to find several potentially major players already gathered on the same distant planet. Not only was her daughter here, but so were two Juraian princesses. Washu had seen many strange coincidences in her time, but this counted as among the strangest by far. Having an officer of the Galaxy Police thrown into the mix only served to make things even weirder.

 _Is all this really just a throw of the cosmic dice_ , she mused, _or are there other forces at work here? And that boy… how did_ he _wind up in the middle of all this?_

There was no denying that she was quite curious about the young man who was now playing host to her. If nothing else, Heero Yuy was quite a polite and reasonable person; he'd readily acquiesced to her desire to take up residence with him and the others. She may not have left him much choice in the matter, but Washu could tell that the young man had put thought into it and had clearly done his best to adapt to the circumstances he was faced with. Washu could respect that; life that could not adapt was life that would not be alive for much longer. He'd also been quite calm and disciplined regarding the whole affair. Lesser men would've frozen in panic at the display of power that she'd demonstrated against Ryoko and Ayeka or at the revelation of her identity as an exiled scientist, but Heero had handled both of those rather smoothly.

It didn't hurt that her new host was quite handsome to boot. Washu had seen plenty of attractive men in her time, but she could not deny that this young man stood out even then. His casual clothes did not hide his well trained frame, his blue eyes were quite striking and went along very well with his dark brown hair, and there was a certain quiet intensity about him that Washu found to be intriguing. At any rate it was easy to see why Ryoko was hot and bothered about him, and Washu was willing to bet that at the very least Ayeka shared those feelings too.

If nothing else, the young man was certainly interesting. He seemed to be a rather unlikely player to get caught up in the middle of so many unique women, but then again he hardly appeared to be a run of the mill guy himself. In fact…

…Washu could not shake the feeling that there was actually something familiar about him.

Washu shrugged. She was imagining things. She was clearly far older than this boy, and she'd been sealed away long before he had been born. Perhaps she'd met someone who looked similar to him long ago and she simply couldn't remember who they were. Regardless, it hardly mattered at this point.

"Now, then," she said softly as she turned her attention back to her screen, "Let's see what we've got here."

She hadn't been lying to Ryoko; the preliminary results of the scans did show her to be quite healthy. While this was obviously a relief for Washu, there was something in particular that she was looking for… and it did not take long for her to find it.

"There we go," she said as she zoomed in, "Right where I left it."

Showing up on the scanner was something that Washu had implanted within Ryoko a _very_ long time ago. Within her chest was a very small and spherical red gem. Ryoko was completely unaware of it by the looks of things.

"It's still dormant," Washu mused aloud, "After all these centuries, she hasn't woken it up… well, given what it would mean if she did, I suppose that's a good thing."

That gem was not the only one of its kind. It was actually part of a set of three…

…and Washu had the other two.

Washu smiled. If the gem was still dormant then it likely meant that the forces Washu was up against hadn't discovered what Ryoko was carrying. Otherwise they would've attacked her with great power and forced her daughter to the brink, and thereby unleashing its incredible strength. The fact that it remained asleep within Ryoko's chest meant that Washu had an ace in the hole to play when the time came, especially once the other two gems were added to the mix.

"Looks like I'll have to keep an eye on her for a while," she said, "Things should get _very_ interesting."

….

"Well," said Lady Une as she turned off the car, "this is it."

Sally nodded. "I know we were the ones who set Heero up out here, but it's still kind of hard to believe that he's got a nice country house that he's sharing with a bunch of girls. Duo would never let him hear the end of it."

"Quite true," Lady Une replied with a smile, "Shall we?"

Sally smiled in return. "Should be fun. Let's go."

The Preventers operative and her commander climbed out of the black sedan. Sally sighed as the fresh autumn wind blew through her hair.

 _You really lucked out, Heero_ , she thought as she shut the car door, _A big house out in the country and with a bunch of beautiful women to keep you company. Now you've got one more added to the mix… one that's apparently been here for a very long time already._

She fell in behind the Director as the two of them headed towards the front door. Lady Une hit the small buzzer to the right of the door frame, and a few seconds later a familiar purple-haired girl opened the door.

"Oh, Director Une!" said Ayeka, "Lady Sally! What a pleasure to see you both again!"

"Likewise, Ayeka," said Lady Une, giving her a courteous bow.

"You look like you're doing well," said Sally, "I hope this new place is to your liking."

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Oh yes, quite so!"

"May we come in?" asked Lady Une.

"Of course," Ayeka replied, "Sir Heero said that you would be showing up soon. Please, come in!"

She stepped aside, and the two of them entered the home. As they took their shoes and jackets off Sally move to put hers in the nearby closet, but she didn't get the chance.

"Let me take those!" said Ayeka hurriedly, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that closet is no longer… suitable to hold your belongings."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"What's Heero hiding in there?" asked Lady Une.

"Forgive me," said Ayeka, "but I feel that it would be presumptuous of me to speak for Sir Heero on that matter. It would be best if he told you himself."

Sally and Lady Une traded a glance and shrugged before they both turned back to Ayeka. Whatever was going on, they'd likely find out soon enough.

"Okay, then," said Sally as she passed Ayeka her jacket, "Thank you."

"Yes," said Lady Une as she handed hers to the princess, "if you're sure you don't mind."

Ayeka shook her head. "Oh, no, not at all! If anything I should be thanking _you_ for allowing my younger sister and I to remain with Sir Heero. You've been far too kind to us both after all the trouble we've caused you!"

Lady Une smiled. "It's no trouble at all. You and Sasami have both been quite cooperative with us, so our hospitality and that of our top agent is the least that we can offer."

"And I'm sure that Heero enjoys your company," said Sally.

She was surprised to see Ayeka blush slightly at that. "Oh… well, I would like to think so."

 _Interesting_ , Sally thought, _Looks like Heero might be growing on her in more ways than one._

"Please," said Ayeka, and Sally couldn't help but notice that she seemed a bit too rushed, "come with me!"

They followed her out into the main living area, where she proceeded to lay their coats over the back of the couch. It was occupied by Ryoko and Mihoshi, who looked like they were enjoying a crime drama on the TV. Ryo-Ohki was lounging in Ryoko's lap, a contented smile on her face and a few orange carrot crumbs stuck in her fur. Off to the side were Azaka and Kamidake maintaining a silent watch over everyone else.

"Sir Heero!" Ayeka called, looking towards the kitchen, "Your guests have arrived!"

Following Ayeka's gaze, Sally saw not only Heero but also Sasami in the kitchen. The two of them were both by the stove, and from the smell that was wafting over it looked like chicken was on today's lunch menu.

Heero nodded at the two of them. "Thanks for coming out here. You're a bit earlier than I thought you'd be."

"Hi there!" said Sasami, beaming at them, "It's nice to see you again!"

Sally smiled. "Hello, Sasami."

Lady Une nodded. "It's good to see you too. How are you, Sasami?"

"I'm good," she replied, "Lunch is just about ready, so make yourselves at home!"

"Is that all right, Heero?" asked Sally.

Heero nodded. "Go ahead. It shouldn't be too much longer."

"Come!" said Ayeka, "I'll join you on the couch while we wait."

"Welcome," said Azaka.

"It's good to see you again," said Kamidake.

"Hello!" chirped Mihoshi as Sally and Lady Une followed Ayeka over.

Ryoko simply nodded, sparing the two women just a brief glance. "Hey."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki in greeting.

"Hello there," said Sally as she smiled at Ryoko, "Staying out of trouble, Ryoko?"

Ryoko scowled, knowing full well that wasn't the case but clearly not wanting to give Sally the satisfaction of admitting that. "That's none of your business."

"I disagree," said Lady Une, and while she was smiling as well Sally couldn't help but note a slight edge in her gaze, "In fact, one could make the argument that everything you do is our business since you're staying with one of our operatives. Try to keep your nose clean, Ryoko."

Ryoko definitely looked flustered at that, but she couldn't seem to come up with a good reply. Sally had to resist a smirk; Lady Une could have that effect on people when she put her mind to it. It was part of what made her such a good Director for the Preventers agency.

"She's right, Ryoko," Mihoshi cheerfully admonished her, "You really should try to behave better."

Ryoko glared at her. "Who do you think you are, my mom?"

Mihoshi innocently shook her head. "No, silly, that's Washu!"

Ryoko groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Speaking of Washu," said Sally as she looked around, "where is she?"

"She's in her lab," said Mihoshi.

Lady Une raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard her right," said Ryoko.

Lady Une and Sally both turned to Ayeka, who simply nodded. "Yes, what Mihoshi said is correct. I understand that it's strange, especially given that this house did not have such a facility when we first arrived."

The pieces started to come together in Sally's head. "The closet…"

Lady Une shook her head. "You've got to be kidding me."

"It didn't take Washu too long to set up shop," said Heero as he and Sasami came out of the kitchen carrying plates full of chicken teriyaki and rice, "I'll show you after we eat."

Sally nodded as she accepted a plate from him. "Thanks."

"I don't understand," said Lady Une, "How on Earth was she able to fit a lab in that closet?"

Heero shook his head as he returned to the kitchen to grab more food and drinks. "I still don't know. Washu said something about linking it to another dimension, but she was pretty light on the details. Whatever she did, it's way beyond what we're capable of."

Sally looked back towards the closet by the front door. It certainly explained why Ayeka had not wanted them to go in there, but that only raised further questions.

 _Just what the hell_ , she thought, _are we dealing with here?_

The answer to that question would surely come soon enough. For now, Sally certainly couldn't deny that she was hungry, especially after the long flight she and Lady Une had taken to get out here. The food smelled great, so she decided to dig in.

"So," said Lady Une as Heero and Sasami finished bringing out everyone's meals before joining them, "I take it Washu's had no problem settling in?"

Heero shook his head. "None that I've noticed."

"She's made herself right at home," Ryoko grumbled.

"Indeed," said Ayeka, "I was surprised at how quickly she was able to establish herself here."

"She set up that lab so fast," said Mihoshi in between bites of chicken, "It was incredible!"

"Yes," said Sally, "about that lab… Heero, she's not doing anything dangerous in there, is she?"

Heero shrugged. "If she was I'd have a hard time figuring it out. The stuff she can do is far beyond anything our science can pull off."

"Like turning Ryoko and my sister into frogs," said Sasami with a laugh, "That was funny!"

Both Ayeka and Ryoko flushed red. Sally couldn't blame them for their embarrassment. When she'd first read that bit of Heero's report it had taken every ounce of her restraint to keep from laughing.

Lady Une smirked. "Yes, I'm sure it was."

"It was not!" snapped Ayeka.

"I'd like to see you laugh when Washu turns you into a frog," growled Ryoko.

"I do hope that Washu does not do that again," said Azaka.

"Princess Ayeka would be furious," said Kamidake.

 _I can only imagine_ , thought Sally with a smirk, _It's really too bad that Heero didn't catch that on video. I suppose I_ could _ask Washu for a demonstration. It sounds like she'd have no qualms about using Ryoko or Ayeka for something like that…_

Sally wouldn't do such a thing, of course. It was an amusing idea, though. If nothing else Washu's little stunt seemed to have taken both Ayeka and Ryoko down a peg, and Sally couldn't find fault with that.

"Let's hope that Washu can refrain from such behavior for the time being," said Lady Une, "Heero, do you think she'll be a problem?"

Heero shook his head. "She's eccentric, but she seems willing enough to listen to me. I think we'll be okay."

 _I can't possibly imagine why_ , Sally thought, smirking again, _You really do have a way with the ladies, don't you Heero?_

It was hard not to laugh at the situation. Here was Preventers' most eligible bachelor, a young man that Sally knew had caught the eyes of several young ladies working in the agency, and yet not only had he not gone after any of them but he now found himself playing host to no less than five girls from beyond the Sol System. She had to wonder just how things would play out with that kind of dynamic; at this point _anything_ was possible.

"I hope you're right, Heero," she said.

….

Heero sighed as he finished putting the last dish away. "I guess there's no putting it off any longer."

"Heero?" said a familiar female voice behind him, and when he turned around he saw that it was Sasami, "Are you okay?"

Heero nodded. "It's nothing."

Sasami shook her head. "It's about Washu, isn't it?"

 _She's a lot more perceptive than she lets on_ , Heero mused, _I keep forgetting that._

"All right," he said, "I'll admit I'm a little concerned. She's unpredictable. I don't need a repeat of the frog incident."

Sasami smiled. "It'll be fine. Just do what you always do."

Heero couldn't help but give her a small smirk. "I'm not exactly sure what that is, Sasami."

Sasami laughed. "That's easy! Just be yourself. Talk to Washu the way you talk to the rest of us. She'll listen to you, I know she will!"

"That simple, huh?" he said, a bit skeptical.

Sasami nodded. "Yup. Treat her just like you treat us. It'll be fine."

 _Easier said than done_ , he thought, _I've at least gotten to know the rest of you a bit since you've all arrived here. Washu's another matter, and the things that she could be capable of… well, at this point I'm not ruling anything out._

He didn't want to argue against Sasami when she was trying so hard to help him, though. That innocent smile and the earnest look in her eyes could be quite potent, and Heero had to wonder if Sasami was being deliberate in her expression or if it just came naturally to her.

In the end all he could do was nod. "All right. I'll give it a shot."

Sasami beamed. "Don't worry. The rest of us will be right there with you."

For her sake he gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

"Anytime," said Sasami as she nodded towards the living room. "Now, are you ready?"

He followed her gaze, where he saw his houseguests and his two superiors still lounging on the couch and watching TV, casting the occasional glances his way. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."

The two of them walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. As they approached he saw Ayeka grab the remote and turn the TV off, and before Heero could say anything the whole group was on its feet. Even Ryoko was standing, surprisingly enough; Heero had been certain that she wouldn't want to go anywhere near Washu's lab.

"Sorry for the delay," said Heero, nodding at Lady Une and Sally, "I'm ready whenever you are."

Sally smiled. "Sure thing. Director?"

Lady Une nodded. "I think we're all set. Lead the way, Heero."

"Do you mind if the rest of us join you?" asked Ayeka.

Heero looked at Lady Une, who simply nodded again. "I don't see a problem with it."

"Just as long as Washu doesn't turn you and Ryoko into frogs again," said Sally with a smirk.

Ayeka's face paled slightly at that. "She… she wouldn't do that twice."

"She'd better not," growled Ryoko, "or I'm shoving an energy ball right up her ass."

"You shouldn't talk about your mother like that, Ryoko!" said Mihoshi with a smile that Heero could not tell for the life of him if it was genuinely innocent or mockingly so.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki in what Heero could only assume was agreement with the space cop.

"Azaka, Kamidake," said Sasami, "Are you coming as well?"

"Would you like us to?" asked Azaka.

"We exist to serve you in all ways possible," said Kamidake.

Ayeka shook her head. "No, you two are to remain here. If that cretin tries anything this time I shall deal with her myself."

"Very well, Princess Ayeka," said Azaka.

"Best of luck!" chirped Kamidake.

"Come on," said Heero as he started walking down the hall, "Let's go."

It took only a few seconds to reach the closet door. Standing in front of it, Heero took a deep breath before he opened it up and stepped inside.

 _I don't think I'll ever get used to this_ , he mused, _What Washu was able to do in here… I've never seen anything like it._

Washu had called it a 'pocket-dimension', but to Heero that term gave what she had done to the closet a deceptively small feel. The facility that she had set up was downright cavernous, and although he'd been in here just after she'd finished the initial renovation he still had no idea just how big this lab of hers really was. There were consoles, screens, cabinets and work tables spread out everywhere. The room wasn't just one large space, either; there were several alcoves, nooks and crannies that led off to who-knew-where. Washu had mentioned that she was also living back here, but Heero had no idea where she'd set up her bedroom or her equivalent of such a thing.

Behind him he heard Sally whistle. "Damn… she really went to work in here."

"Incredible…" said Lady Une softly.

"More like creepy as hell," Ryoko muttered.

"It's most unnatural!" said Ayeka in a mix of anxiety and indignation, "I swear, that woman truly is a demon!"

"I want her to do this to _my_ closet!" said Mihoshi, "Then I can fit more stuff in there!"

"That's a great idea!" said Sasami, "Ayeka, don't you think so too? We could have Washu enlarge our closet as well!"

"No, we shall not," said Ayeka firmly, "I'm sorry, Sasami, but I have no intention of commissioning Washu for any such renovations."

 _And I'm quite grateful for that_ , Heero thought, _The last thing I need is more of Washu's 'pocket-dimensions' popping up in this house. Who knows what she might end up connecting to…_

"Where the hell is she?" asked Ryoko, "I want to get this over with!"

"You didn't have to join us," said Heero as they walked through the lab.

Ryoko folded her arms and shot a glare at Ayeka. "Yeah, well… it's not like I could let the royal brat show me up."

Ayeka scowled. "Are you trying to pick a fight again, you cur?"

"Knock it off, both of you," Lady Une ordered, her voice sharp and stern.

Much to his pleasant surprise Heero saw both Ryoko and Ayeka jump slightly; Lady Une's commanding tone seemed to have taken them off guard. Glancing at Sally, he saw that she had a satisfied smirk on her face.

 _Can't say that I blame her_ , Heero mused, _One underestimate's the Director at their own peril…_

"She's gotta be around here somewhere," said Sasami.

"Meow," mumbled Ryo-Ohki from Sasami's arms.

"Washu!" yelled Mihoshi, "Where are you?"

There was no immediate answer, but a few seconds later Heero heard what sounded like falling items and breaking glass, followed by a series of curses. Following the noise, Heero and the others soon arrived at a rather large desk. There were vials, beakers, and other scientific equipment and supplies scattered all around, and kneeling on the floor with a dustpan and a mini-broom was the lady of the hour, hastily trying to clear up some broken glass and what appeared to be a greenish liquid.

"Damn it," she hissed, "That stuff's slippery…"

"Having trouble?" asked Sally.

Washu looked up at the others, looking a bit surprised at the company. "When did you guys get here?"

"We just came in," said Heero, "It's not like you've got a lock on that door."

Washu nodded as she continued cleaning. "Right. Gotta fix that, or at least get myself an early warning system installed."

"It's nice to see that you've made yourself at home," said Lady Une, "I trust my agent's given you his full hospitality?"

Wash smiled, and there was a light in her eye that made Heero a little nervous as she looked at him. "You mean handsome here? He's been an absolute gentleman! I couldn't ask for a better host. Quite the piece of eye-candy too, if I do say so myself!"

Heero couldn't see them, but he could all but _feel_ Ayeka and Ryoko staring daggers at Washu from behind him. That was hardly a good sign, and he knew that he had to find some way to keep things from getting out of hand.

Lady Une smiled. "Well, I'm glad you like him. I'm also glad that you saw fit not to turn him into an amphibian."

Washu chuckled as she glanced at Ayeka and Ryoko. "Word travels fast, eh? Not to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you again?"

Lady Une turned to Heero. "You didn't tell her that we were coming?"

"I did," Heero replied, "but I'm not sure if she was paying attention."

"Sorry about that," said Washu, "I think I was in the middle of putting my lab supplies back together when you popped in."

Heero looked over at Lady Une and shrugged. His boss took that as her cue to make her introduction.

"In that case," she said, "my name is Lady Une. I'm the Director of Preventers, the organization that Heero works for. We're charged with keeping the peace on Earth and in the colonies."

Sally smiled. "I'm Heero's direct superior. My name's Sally Po. It's nice to meet you."

Washu nodded. "Thanks. So, you two are big-shots, huh? It's nice to get the celebrity treatment."

Lady Une chuckled. "Is that so? Well, given that we've only started experiencing contact with beings from beyond our world quite recently I'd say that it's only natural that we'd want to meet you… especially since you've apparently been here for quite some time already."

"Right under our noses, in fact," said Sally, "Ryoko and Ayeka only showed up here a little over a month ago, and Mihoshi and Sasami not long after that. You, on the other hand, have apparently been out here for centuries at least."

Washu whistled. "And you guys really had no outside contact between way back then and just recently? Man, you really are way out in the middle of nowhere. I'm surprised I landed on this rock."

"As are we," said Lady Une, her eyes narrowing, "and we have some questions about that."

Washu folded her arms, and Heero was surprised to see that she looked completely serious now. "I'm sure that you do."

"You're a smart woman," said Sally, "so I'm sure you understand that we need to learn as much about you as we can. We're charged with the safety of this world, after all; we need to determine that you're not a threat."

Washu smiled. "So you want to interrogate me, right? I'm fine with that, but I've got just one condition."

Lady Une nodded. "And that is?"

Washu pointed at Heero. "Handsome here does the interview, and without an audience."

Suddenly put on the spot, Heero turned to his superiors. "Well?"

"You do realize that as our agent Heero will report his findings directly to us," said Sally, "Regardless if he interviews you in private or in front of the rest of us we _will_ learn what was discussed."

Washu nodded. "I'm well aware of that. Since he's been so cooperative with me I won't hold that against him. Nevertheless, that's my condition to going along with this."

Things were quiet for a moment, and Heero was concerned that Lady Une or Sally might raise an objection. He saw the two women look at each other and nod before turning back to Washu.

"Very well," said Lady Une, "I accept your condition."

"Just don't turn Heero into a frog," said Sally with a smirk, "We would like for him to be able to continue to perform his duties, after all."

Washu smiled. "Sure thing… although I can't make any promises!"

Lady Une chuckled and glanced at Heero. "Better watch yourself, Heero."

"No wait just a minute!" said Ayeka, stepping forward, "I object to this! With all due respect, Director Une, Washu has already proven herself to be a threat! You cannot let her be alone with Sir Heero!"

"Yeah," said Ryoko, in a rare moment of agreement with her rival, "Look at what she did to me and Ayeka when she popped out of that cave! You can't let her get him alone!"

Washu smirked. "Are you jealous of your _mother_ , Ryoko? That's not very mature of you!"

"Bite me!" Ryoko shot back.

"That's enough!" said Heero sternly, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Ryoko and Ayeka, "I'll handle the interview and the rest of you will not interfere. Is that clear?"

"Sir Heero…" said Ayeka nervously.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Ryoko, shooting a suspicious look at Washu.

Heero nodded, although privately he had his doubts. "I am. My superiors agreed to her condition, so it's my duty to follow through."

Sally smiled. "Well said."

"Don't worry, Ayeka," said Sasami, "Heero will be fine!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"You should trust your mother, Ryoko," Mihoshi chimed in.

Ryoko folded her arms. "She's the _last_ person I would ever trust."

"It doesn't matter," said Heero firmly as he looked at Washu, "So, where do you want to do this?"

"I set up a little room in the back," said Washu, "We can talk there."

Heero nodded before turning to the others. "I don't know how long this will take, so why don't you all just head back to the living room? I'll come find you when we're done."

"Sounds good," replied Lady Une, "We'll show ourselves out, Washu."

"Try not to knock anything over," said Washu, "I'm trying to keep this place tidy."

"Remember," said Sally with a wink, "No frogs!"

Washu smirked. "You guys are never going to let that one go, are you?"

"It did make a rather striking impression," said Heero as the others headed for the door, "I don't think anyone will be forgetting it anytime soon."

"Sir Heero!" Ayeka called, "Please be careful with that woman!"

"Washu!" Ryoko yelled, "If you try anything funny I'll make you regret it!"

"Come on, you," said Mihoshi as she grabbed her arm, "Time to go!"

Washu waved, a playful grin on her face, "See you later!"

When the group was gone Washu turned to Heero and nodded. "Follow me."

Not knowing what else to do, Heero fell in behind her as she guided him back through her lab. Despite her earlier protestations about how she was trying to keep the facility 'tidy', what Heero saw looked more like organized chaos.

 _Where did she keep all this stuff?_ , he thought as he saw containers of all shapes and sizes, some sealed and some partially unpacked, _There's no way it could've been with her when she was sealed away in her stasis pod._

After a moment Heero shook her head. Washu was a bundle of mysteries, and while he hoped the coming interview might solve a few of those riddles he had his doubts.

"How far back does this go?" he asked as they kept walking.

"Just a little bit further," said Washu.

"I know you explained to me before how you did all this," said Heero, "but I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. It is impressive, though."

Washu turned to him and smiled. "Aw, are you trying to flatter me, handsome? Keep that up and you'll have me eating out of the palm of your hand!"

"Let's avoid that if possible," Heero replied, "I have a feeling that Ayeka and your daughter would react poorly to it."

Washu laughed. "So there _is_ a sense of humor under that cool exterior of yours! Why didn't you show me sooner?"

"I wasn't joking," Heero deadpanned, "Now that you're here I'm charged with looking after you in addition to the others. If Ayeka and Ryoko kill you then I'll have failed in my duties."

Washu chuckled. "They could try, but they wouldn't have a whole lot of luck. They're powerful, but I already know how to deal with both of them."

"I'm not sure if your frog trick will work twice," Heero commented.

Washu put her hands on her hips and turned towards him, her eyes narrowing. "Young man, are you implying that I'm a one trick pony? Believe me, I'd be _more_ than happy to prove you wrong!"

Heero shook his head, hoping that he hadn't crossed a point of no return. "There's no need for that."

Washu gave him a devious smirk. "I'll be the judge of that. Come on; we're just about there."

Heero could see that she was right. Just past her, wedged between a shelf full of vials and other equipment and a console of some sort was a bright red door.

"Here we go," said Washu as she opened the door and stood aside, beckoning him to come in, "Home, sweet home!"

Heero walked through the door and was confronted with what appeared to be a pretty comfortable set of living quarters. There was a desk with a chair off to one side and a couch to another. Her bed was along the back wall, and the whole setup struck Heero as rather Spartan in nature.

"You know," said Heero, "you don't have to confine yourself back here. You're more than welcome to come out into the rest of the house."

Washu smiled, and to Heero it looked surprisingly genuine. "That's sweet of you, but you don't need to worry about me. I've just been taking time to set things up properly and get back into the swing of things. You don't have to be concerned; I'll come out and join the rest of you soon enough."

Heero nodded. "If you say so."

Washu led him over to the couch. Sitting down first, she then looked up at him and patted the spot next to her.

"Come on," she said with an impish smile, "I don't bite!"

"That's the least of my concerns," he said as he sat down with her.

Washu chuckled. "I suppose it is."

"Don't take this the wrong way," said Heero firmly, "but I'm obliged to be as thorough as possible here. If I seem pushy it's because we need to know as much about you as possible, especially considering the abilities that you've already demonstrated to us."

Washu nodded. "I understand. Don't worry; I won't hold it against you for doing your job."

"I appreciate that," Heero replied.

Washu smiled. "Hey, I can be professional when the mood strikes me."

"Forgive me if I have a hard time seeing that based on our initial encounter," Heero deadpanned.

Washu nodded and smirked. "Point taken."

"Well then," said Heero, "are you ready?"

"Almost," Washu replied, her eyes narrowing, "Having you handle the interview by yourself was the condition I gave to your superiors, but I've got two more for you. I won't go along with you in this otherwise."

"You're altering the agreement?" said Heero, stiffening somewhat, "What makes you think I'll go along with you on this?"

"The impression I have of you so far," said Washu, "I'll admit I don't know you too well, but from what I've observed you're calm, professional, flexible, and reasonable. What I'm going to ask of you isn't too demanding, and it's certainly not worth any effort you'd put up to fight it."

"I'll be the judge of that," said Heero firmly, "What do you want?"

"First," said Washu, "I want to do more than just give you information; I want to learn as well. I'll answer your questions, but I've got some of my own that I want to ask you. There's a lot that I don't know about this planet or the people that you work for, after all, and I intend to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. What do you say? Play nice and we can both get what we want."

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. Her first term really wasn't that unreasonable; it was natural that she'd be curious about the world she found herself in, as well as who was keeping an eye on her. As an interrogator he couldn't let her gain the upper hand, but if turning this into an exchange of information made things go smoothly then he could adapt his approach accordingly.

He nodded, although he fixed her with a stern gaze as he answered. "Very well, I'll accept your first term. What's the second?"

Washu chuckled. "No need to be so uptight about it, handsome. It's quite small, I assure you!"

"You'll understand if I don't take your word for it on that," Heero replied, "So, what is it?"

She gave him the same playful grin that she had the night they'd first met. "Could you please call me Little Washu?"

….

 _He's not half bad at this_ , thought Washu as she listened to Heero answer one of her questions about Preventers, _No wonder his superiors agreed to let him handle me on his own…_

Washu had to admit that she was impressed with the way that Heero was dealing with the interrogation. His questions for her were blunt and to the point, and when she didn't give him a direct answer he would press for a bit to see if she would yield. If she didn't then he would simply move on to the next topic, but Washu didn't fool herself into believing that he would simply forget what she had been unwilling to discuss. As for his end, whenever Washu asked him a question his answer would be a balanced mix of informative but limited. He would give her plenty of useful general information, but if things moved towards material that he considered to be off limits he would make that quite clear and not move so much as a centimeter further in that direction.

The result had been more or less what Washu was hoping for; a game of give and take. Neither party got everything that they asked for, but at the same time they wouldn't be walking away empty handed either. Washu did find herself idly wondering if some of the topics she refused to discuss now might pop back up later on in a different setting, and if she'd be willing to spill the beans to Heero then. Given the company he now kept, particularly concerning Ryoko, it was a distinct possibility.

Washu smiled as he finished up. "Thanks. Sounds like you guys really have your hands full nowadays, especially with people like me showing up."

Heero nodded. "Yes, although so far we've managed to keep things under wraps. I'm sure you understand by now that we'd like to keep it that way."

Washu nodded. "Of course. I could tell from the beginning that your civilization isn't ready for proper first contact with the broader galaxy. The fact that you and your organization are working so hard to keep the existence of Ryoko and the others a secret shows that your superiors feel the same way."

"Since you understand the situation," Heero replied, "does that mean that we can count on your cooperation?"

Washu grinned. "Sure, as long as I get to keep my setup here with you, handsome!"

His expression didn't change very much, but Washu could tell from the way he seemed to relax ever so slightly that he was relieved by her answer. "I think that should work out fine."

"Glad to hear it," said Washu, "I'd hate to have to move out after working so hard to get my lab back up and running!"

"Speaking of your lab," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "what sort of work do you plan on doing in here?"

Washu gave him her best impression of an innocent smile. "Oh, you know. Just a little bit of this and that…"

"Washu…" said Heero, folding his arms.

"Hey!" Washu pouted, "You said that you'd call me Little Washu just like I asked, remember?"

"That was just to get you to do the interview," Heero replied, "I said nothing about doing it afterwards, and stop deflecting from what I asked. I'm not backing off this time."

Washu sighed before smiling again. "Well, I guess I can hold off on any _truly_ dangerous work… but only as a favor to you!"

Heero nodded, although he looked skeptical. Washu couldn't blame him for that.

"I guess I'll have to take that," he said, "Just know that I _will_ be checking in here."

"Sure thing," Washu replied, "You can come and go as you please; wouldn't dream of keeping eye-candy like you locked out!"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," said Heero, and Washu had the satisfaction of seeing that he looked a little uncomfortable.

Pressing her advantage, she sidled up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Aw, is mister hot-shot government agent actually a shy guy? I can help with that, handsome! I am a doctor, after all; maybe you should let me _treat_ you!"

"I'll pass," Heero replied as he brushed her hand off him.

Washu winked. "Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me!"

Heero nodded as he stood up. "I do. Well, I think we're done here for now. Come on; the others are waiting."

"Sure thing," said Washu as she joined him, and the two of them headed out the door and back through the lab.

"So," she said as they walked through the lab, "what happens to you now? You get a nice pay raise for keeping an eye on the scary alien mad scientist?"

"A raise would be nice," Heero replied, "I am going to need to buy more food now, at the very least."

Washu smiled and patted him on the back. "I'll put in a good word for you with your bosses! I'm living with you now, so I've got a stake in your paycheck too."

She was surprised to actually see him smirk and chuckle ever so slightly. "As long as you don't get me fired somewhere down the road."

 _So he can loosen up a bit_ , she thought, _This guy gets more interesting with each passing moment…_

Eventually they came to the exit. Heero opened the door, and Washu followed him through it. Once they were back in the main house it didn't take them long to find the others, who were all waiting anxiously in the living room.

Washu grinned at the others as she gave Heero a playful nudge with her elbow. "Well, all done! And look; I didn't hurt him at all!"

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka as she rushed over, "I'm so glad that you're safe!"

"Heero!" said Ryoko as she raced Ayeka, looking no less relieved, "Are you okay?"

"Relax," he said, "I'm fine."

"See, Ayeka?" said Sasami with a smile, "You worry too much!"

"I told you to trust Washu, Ryoko!" Mihoshi chimed in.

"Easy for you to say," Ryoko muttered.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from Sasami's arms, looking quite pleased to see him.

"It would seem that things went well," said Azaka.

"Quite a relief," said Kamidake, "I would hate for Ayeka to get angry again."

Lady Une smiled. "How did it go?"

"Well enough," Heero replied, "I'll send you my report later."

"We look forward to reading it," said Sally, "but we wouldn't mind a preliminary verdict from you."

Washu looked over at Heero, who simply gave his superiors a nod. "She's dangerous, but no more or less so than any of the others. I think it'd be best if she stays here."

Lady Une smirked. "As blunt as ever, I see. Are you sure this is the way you want to play it?"

"Yes," Heero replied.

Sally smiled. "Well, at least you'll be keeping her out of our hair. The last place we want her is Brussels."

Washu folded her arms. "You know I can hear you, right?"

Sally chuckled. "Yes, I do."

"Sally is correct," said Lady Une, "No offense, Miss Washu, but I'm afraid we just can't risk bringing someone like you to the capital at this time."

Washu shrugged. "That's too bad. Oh, well. I'm sure I'll find plenty of ways to keep myself occupied out here."

"I should hope so," said Lady Une before turning to Sally, "Well, I think that we're done here."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "So soon?"

Lady Une nodded. "Heero will have his full report composed and sent to us within forty-eight hours. I trust that won't be a problem, will it, Heero?"

Heero shook his head. "Not at all. I'll have it in your inbox well before the deadline."

Lady Une smiled. "Excellent. I'll keep my eyes open for it."

"Do you have to leave so quickly?" asked Mihoshi.

"Can't you stay for dinner?" asked Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"It wouldn't be a problem," said Heero.

Lady Une shook her head. "Thank you, but we really must be getting back."

"Our hotel's a bit of a drive from here," said Sally, "Plus, we've got a long flight back to the capital tomorrow."

Heero nodded. "Understood. I'll show you out."

Washu grinned. "It was nice meeting you. If you come back sometime and ask really nicely I might just do some work for you!"

Lady Une nodded. "I'll keep that offer in mind. Until next time, Washu. It was a pleasure to meet you. Farewell, everyone."

"Farewell, Director Une. Lady Sally," said Ayeka with a small bow, "Safe travels to you both."

"Come back again sometime!" said Sasami.

"It was nice seeing you again!" Mihoshi chimed in.

Sally smiled. "I'm sure we'll see you all again eventually. Stay out of trouble, everyone!"

As Heero headed towards the door with the two women, Washu found herself alone with the rest of the girls. They all turned towards her, with Ayeka and Ryoko in particular looking rather anxious.

 _Can't say that I blame them_ , she thought with a smirk, _If they're not careful the only thing protecting them from me will be Heero! Then again, it might be nice to give_ him _an examination as well…_

"Well," she said with a grin, "you're all stuck with me now!"

"Damn it," Ryoko muttered, "This sucks…"

"A rather unfortunate development," murmured Ayeka.

Washu folded her arms. "What's that? You two had better change your tones, or the next thing I do to you will be _much_ more creative than turning you into frogs!"

She had the immense satisfaction of seeing both of their faces pale. The two women gulped, and Washu could only imagine the nightmare scenarios that were running through their heads now.

 _I still got it_ , she mused, _I may be a bit on the short side, but I can still inspire fear with the best of them!_

"Aw, don't be like that, Washu!" said Mihoshi with a smile, "Ryoko and Ayeka didn't mean anything by it. Right, you two?"

"Come on, Ayeka," said Sasami, "She's staying with us now, so we should all do our best to get along and be friends!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"That would be for the best," said Azaka.

"As always, Sasami is the voice of reason," said Kamidake.

 _More likely she's just too nice to want to pick a fight_ , thought Washu as she looked at the younger princess, _Not that that's too surprising though. If she's who I think she_ really _is…_

Washu had never actually met Sasami before she had awoken on Earth, but her face definitely had a familiar look to it. The exiled scientist had a feeling she knew exactly where that came from too, and if she was right then it meant that things would get even more interesting than they already were.

Ayeka must've caught her looking at her younger sister, because she took a step to put herself between Washu and Sasami. The older princess glared at her, but Washu wasn't intimidated in the least.

A few moments later she heard the front door close and mere seconds later Heero was down the hall and into the living room. He looked between Washu and the others, studying everyone intently.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

Ayeka shook her head and smiled. "Oh, nothing at all, Sir Heero!"

"We're good here," said Ryoko while shooting a nervous glance at Washu.

"Is everything okay with your bosses?" asked Mihoshi.

Heero nodded. "Yes."

"I hope they come back sometime soon," said Sasami, "They're both nice ladies."

"They are," said Heero, "but they also have very busy schedules, Sasami. If they come back out here again it will likely be for something very important, not a social call."

"Sir Heero's right, Sasami," said Ayeka, "They are his superiors, after all, and are charged with protecting this world. I doubt that leaves them much time for friendly visits."

"That's putting it mildly," said Heero, "I'm actually surprised they were both able to find the time to come out here."

Washu chuckled. "I guess I've got your higher-ups pretty spooked then if they're coming out all this way, eh?"

Heero turned to her. "I didn't leave anything out in my report to them on our first encounter, and given the power that you displayed it was quite natural that they'd take a keen interest in meeting you and evaluating you firsthand. You're lucky that they agreed to go along with your demand to just have me conduct the interview; Director Une doesn't pull her punches in the interrogation room."

Washu smiled at him. "Well, then, I guess I owe you one, don't I? How would you like the favor to be repaid, handsome? I've got a few ideas!"

"Washu!" growled Ryoko.

"As fiendish as her daughter!" hissed Ayeka.

"I'll pass, thanks," said Heero, "Your cooperation in the interview makes us even."

Washu smirked. "All right, but I'll keep the offer on the table!"

 _Indefinitely_ , she silently added as she studied him, _You've got all the other girls wrapped around your finger, and I want to find out why. Two Juraian princesses, a member of the Galaxy Police, and my daughter… how did_ you _wind up becoming the sun that they're now orbiting around? I'm keeping my eye on you at least until I get that question answered. It's gotta be more than just looks…_

A growl from her stomach interrupted her thoughts. For the first time Washu realized that she was absolutely famished, and she had completely forgotten the last time she had eaten; setting up her lab and her interview with Heero had occupied her considerably.

"So," she said, "any chance that we could get some dinner going?"

"Yeah," said Mihoshi, "I'm starving!"

"I must admit," said Ayeka, "Dinner would be lovely right about now."

"Yo, Heero," said Ryoko, "What's on the menu for tonight?"

Heero shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"Oh!" said Sasami, "How about that dish you showed me how to make with the noodles and the red sauce and meat?"

"Spaghetti?" said Heero, "I think we've got the ingredients we need for that. There should be some garlic bread in the fridge that we can heat up too."

Ryoko smiled. "That sounds good!"

Ayeka nodded. "Indeed."

"Yummy!" Mihoshi chimed in.

"Let's get started!" cried Sasami, already rushing towards the kitchen.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki as she chased after her.

Washu looked at Heero and raised an eyebrow. "Spaghetti?"

Heero shrugged. "You'll find out if you like it or not soon enough. I'll go help Sasami cook. Feel free to relax; I'll let you know when it's ready."

Washu nodded. "Sounds good. I guess I'll hang around out here then; I suppose I could use a bit of time out of the lab."

"Oh!" said Mihoshi, smiling, "You should watch TV with us. There's supposed to be a great show on right now!"

Washu smiled. "Why not?"

As she headed over to the couch with the others she spared one more glance over at Heero, who was already in the kitchen setting up to cook with Sasami. Landing on a planet that was out in the middle of nowhere like this was hardly an ideal situation, but she had to admit that things could've been a lot worse. She had a place to stay, her new lab was all set up and ready to go, she had companions to mess with, and a rather attractive host.

 _Might as well make myself comfortable_ , she thought, _I have a feeling that I'm going to be here for a while. No reason why I can't enjoy it!_

….

 _Well_ , thought Heero as he wrapped up washing the dishes, _that went much better than I thought it would. No fights, no explosions, no transformations… it's hard to believe that we actually had a normal dinner with our newest houseguest._

It was a big relief to the Gundam pilot, seeing as how the living room was also in effect their dining room; a fight of any sort, especially while spaghetti was on everyone's plates, would've likely made a huge mess on the couch. Fortunately for Heero he had dodged that particular bullet. He chalked up part of his luck to the fact that the TV had been kept on the whole time, and Washu had apparently been quite interested when Heero had idly flipped the channel over to the news. That was something he would have to keep in mind for the future; she was curious about the current affairs of his world, and there were ways he might be able to take advantage of that.

Dinner wasn't the only thing that had gone well. Lady Une and Sally's visit had gone much smoother than Heero had originally anticipated. Washu's demand to have him handle the interview with her by himself had concerned him for a bit, but his superiors had been agreeable on the matter and everything seemed to have worked out for the best. He still had plenty of time to compose his report and send it over to the Director, and he was sure that that would satisfy any lingering questions she might have.

 _After that_ , he mused, _comes another trip to the grocery store. I really hope I get that new cost of living adjustment soon; with all these hungry ladies to feed I'm going to need it._

He would likely have to bring Washu along on that trip, if only to get a feel as to what she might like. Of course, there was no way that he would be able to go alone with her; if Ayeka and Ryoko's behavior up until this point was any indication he highly doubted that they would just sit back and let him take her out without them. Then Mihoshi and Sasami would likely try to join in, and he would be heading into town with all of his lovely alien ladies in tow.

Heero shook his head as he put the last dish away. There wasn't any point in worry about that right now. He could save it for tomorrow; right now he needed to unwind after all that had happened today.

Looking out at the living room, Heero was glad to see that his guests were all still on the couch and focused on the TV. One of Mihoshi's cop shows was on at the moment, and glancing at Washu he saw that she was watching with what appeared to be mild amusement. He had to wonder what this sort of cultural exposure was like for someone who had been in a state of suspended animation for what at the minimum had to be several hundred years. Heero supposed that she would no doubt have plenty more questions for him as the days went on; he did not believe for a moment that their little interview was the end of things on that front.

Things were about as peaceful as they could get given this crowd, which meant that Heero had a rare opportunity to get himself some space. Slipping quietly out of the kitchen and doing his best to not draw any attention himself, the Preventers operative went through the hall and carefully opened the front door to avoid making any noise and alerting the others. After stepping outside the young man cautiously shut the door and started walking towards the small lake in front of the house.

 _Finally_ , he thought as he closed his eyes for a moment, the better to enjoy the cool evening breeze, _a bit of space. That's not too much to ask, is it?_

Idly he found himself wandering towards the edge of the lake where the stepping stone path to the island in the middle began. Deciding to follow this bit of whimsy, he went out onto the first stone and began slowly making his way across the rocks. It didn't take him too long to arrive at his destination. The large tree dominated the island like it always did, and Heero found himself looking up at its branches. There was still quite a bit of green left in its leaves, which was rather surprising given the time of year. Heero simply shrugged; it was just one more mystery that had popped up in his life, and quite frankly it was a very minor one.

Turning around, he sat down and leaned back against the tree. Staring across the lake he could see the lights of the living room on in his house, along with flashes coming from the TV. It was such a peaceful image, one that was quite at odds with the rather rambunctious nature of his houseguests. Heero supposed that it was a decent metaphor for where he currently found himself in life; quiet on the outside and anything but on the inside.

 _I don't know how long this will last_ , he thought, _Watching over these women is important, but eventually the Director and Sally will need me back in the field. I'm not sure what I'll do with the girls then. Oh, well; no sense in worrying about it now. I'll find a way to manage things when the time comes._

He closed his eyes again and gave a very small smile as he savored the evening breeze and the feel of the tree against his back. He felt so comfortable right now that he wouldn't be surprised at all if he just dozed off…

….

"Enjoying your nap, handsome?"

Heero jolted upwards. Looking around, he quickly found the source of the voice; it was none other than Washu. He also realized that he was still on the island with the tree, and that it was still dark out.

"Did I actually fall asleep out here?" he asked, the question more directed at himself than at Washu.

"Yup," said Washu with a smile, "You looked pretty cozy."

"How long was I out?" asked Heero.

"About an hour," Washu replied, "Sorry for making you jump like that, but it's not exactly healthy for you to sleep out here. The weather's nice now, but it's probably going to get colder before the night is over."

Heero studied her, puzzled at what appeared to be genuine concern on her part. "How do you know that?"

"Simple," said Washu with a shrug, "It's still early. Besides, for a genius like me, meteorology is a breeze… no pun intended. Your planet's weather patterns are nothing special when compared to some of the real oddball worlds out there in the universe."

"You've only been awake for a few days," said Heero, shaking his head, "You can't know that much about our weather in that short amount of time."

Washu smirked. "Hey, you'd be surprised at how quick of a study I am!"

Heero's eyes narrowed as another thought popped into his head. "How did you get out here by yourself?"

"Same way you did," Washu replied, "The rocks."

"That's not what I meant," said Heero, "If the others knew that you were coming out here to see me then I doubt that they would've let you do so alone. Not Ayeka and Ryoko, at least."

Washu smiled. "It was easy enough; I just told them that I was going back to my lab. Since the closet's right by the front door none of them suspected a thing. Besides, between you and me I don't think they're exactly eager to spend any time alone with me right now!"

Heero nodded. "True enough."

Washu surprised him by stepping forward and sitting down right next to where he had been sleeping. She looked up at him and patted the ground next to her.

"Care to join me?" she said, "You don't have to run back inside quite yet, right?"

Heero wondered what her game was, but he felt that there was no harm in going along with it for now. "All right."

As he sat down beside her he saw her nod across the lake at the house. "I have to admit, this is a pretty sweet setup. Your bosses treat you pretty well, Heero."

"Well," he replied, "the circumstances are rather… unique. If none of you had arrived I'd still be living in my apartment in the capital. Still, a place like this is a nice change of pace from the city."

Washu nodded. "Nice and roomy, too… even without my little renovations!"

"Speaking of renovations," said Heero cautiously, "you're not planning on adding on any more dimensional pockets to the house, are you?"

Washu gave him a sly smirk. "Maybe. It all depends."

"Depends on what?" asked Heero.

"On how generous I'm feeling!" said Washu, "I mean, I could give this house of ours _so_ much more than it has right now. Just a few tweaks in the fabric of time and space and we'll be living in luxury!"

"I'll settle for simple comfort," said Heero, "I'd rather not run the risk of you linking the place with a black hole."

"Hey, now, don't be like that!" said Washu, "What do I look like to you, an amateur? Trust me, dimensional manipulation is child's play for me!"

"Perhaps," Heero replied, "but for now I'd like you to refrain from any further modifications to the house, okay?"

Washu chuckled, and Heero did not like the look in her eyes. "We'll see, handsome."

Heero sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that you're the type who enjoys toying with people?"

"Because I totally am," said Washu without missing a beat, "Where's the fun in being a super genius if I can't use my brilliance to troll people?"

"I'm starting to see why you were exiled and crammed in that pod," Heero deadpanned, "You must've driven your fellow scientists insane."

Washu pouted. "Hey, it's not my fault that my old colleagues were a bunch of stiffs! It's tough being a pretty scientist with a healthy sense of humor when everyone around you stresses on and on about formalities and dignity. People need to loosen up and have a bit of fun!"

Heero could not help but smirk and shake his head. "You're starting to sound like Duo. I really hope that he never meets you."

"Colleague of yours who likes trolling people?" asked Washu with a grin.

Heero had to chuckle. "You could say that."

"Sounds like he's a pretty fun guy," said Washu, "Is he as good looking as you? You should invite him over sometime so I can do a comparison… a _thorough_ comparison."

Heero didn't need to be a genius to figure out what she was hinting at. "That's not going to happen."

Wash shrugged before smirking at him. "That's a shame. Guess I'll just have to get my kicks with you!"

"Like mother, like daughter…" Heero muttered, "I'm starting to see where Ryoko gets some of her personality traits from. You said that she was made artificially, but clearly you passed on some of your aspects to her."

"Call it a touch of vanity," Washu replied, "She's one of my masterpieces, after all, and I have a healthy ego!"

"Understatement of the year," said Heero as he looked out at the house, wondering what Ryoko would say if she could hear him and Washu talking about her like this.

There was a moment of silence before Heero spoke again. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something."

Washu chuckled. "Something you missed during our session earlier?"

Heero nodded. "It wasn't a high priority, and it wasn't something I planned on reporting to my superiors."

Washu smiled and rubbed her hands together, clearly excited. "Oh, so now we're going off the record, eh? All right, then; hit me!"

"It's about Ryoko," said Heero, "Why did you really make her?"

"Well," said Washu, "when you put it like that you make it sound like I wanted something more than a daughter?"

"That _is_ what it sounds like," Heero replied, "and that was intentional. Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't strike me as the type to have children just for children's sake."

Washu sighed. "Can't slip much past you, can I?"

"I wouldn't be very good at my job if I weren't able to pick up on things like that," said Heero.

Washu nodded. "True. Look, you're right in that I created her for much more than to simply give myself a daughter, but… I can't tell you why."

"Is she a weapon?" asked Heero, hating how blunt he sounded but refusing to dance around the issue.

Washu looked down, and to Heero it almost looked like she was _ashamed_. "Partially, yes, but… she's so much more than that, Heero."

"I could've told you that on my own," said Heero, and he had the satisfaction of seeing Washu's eyes widen in response.

"You…" she said softly, her voice trailing off.

"I won't pull my punches," said Heero, "Ryoko's a very powerful individual, and that makes her very dangerous. It's why my superiors want me to keep an eye on her. However, I've spent enough time with her to know that she's more than just a person with extraordinary abilities. She's impulsive and selfish, but she's also intelligent, independent, passionate, and tough. She's a woman who's been through quite a lot, and she had a rough start to life; you didn't do her any favors when you left her, even if Ryo-Ohki was with her."

Washu nodded, and Heero was impressed with how she didn't flinch under his gaze. "Believe me, if I could've done things differently, I would've. I can't tell you right now, Heero, but… well, I had my reasons for acting the way I did back then."

"Why can't you tell me?" asked Heero firmly, "Can you tell Ryoko, at least?"

Washu shook her head. "Not yet. Look, I know how this must sound to you and how it would sound to her, but… I don't think either of you are ready for it yet. It's… well, it's much bigger than just the relationship between a mother and daughter."

Heero folded his arms. "I'm having a hard time buying that. Are you sure it's not just because you're afraid to honestly confront Ryoko about why you abandoned her?"

Washu's eyes narrowed, but despite the pressure Heero was putting on her she refused to back down. "If you knew what I was facing back then you'd be completely supporting my decision. For all I know the threat could become active again, too, and that's why I can't tell either of you yet. Not until I learn more."

"What threat?" asked Heero, pouncing on that word, "Is it a danger to the Earth?"

"I put some countermeasures in place before I was captured and sealed away," said Washu, "If they survived the centuries then the threat should remain neutralized. However, as of right now I have no way to know for sure. I've been out of it for too long and have completely lost my connections with the rest of the galaxy. I can't say more until I've found a way to reestablish those ties and update my information."

Heero shook his head in frustration. "So you refuse to budge on this? Look, if you feel it's too big for you trust me with I can understand that, but what about your daughter? Ryoko deserves the truth."

He was surprised to see that Washu was now smiling at him, and even more so that it appeared to be quite warm and sincere. "You really care about her, don't you?"

"Yes," Heero replied instinctively, giving no thought whatsoever to the possible broader implications.

Washu smirked. "Well, now… she really did get lucky, ending up staying with you, didn't she? Oh, the fun I could have with her about that…"

"You can save your 'fun' for later," said Heero, "Ryoko only brought it up once, and only when I asked her about it, but I could tell that your absence hurt her pretty badly at the start of her life. Having Ryo-Ohki with her wasn't enough to fill the hole that came with not having a real parent or guardian in those early days. If you tell her why you couldn't be there you could go a long way towards healing that wound."

Washu smiled again. "How about that? You're an operative and a therapist. You really are an interesting guy, you know that?"

"So I've been told," said Heero, "but I'm not looking for compliments right now. I'm looking to understand you and help Ryoko."

Washu nodded. "I know. I can't give you the answers you want right now. However… when the time's right, I'll tell you and Ryoko everything. I promise."

Heero closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her again and nodding. "All right… but I'm going to hold you to that."

Washu smiled. "I'd expect nothing less from the man who's been taking care of my daughter. I know she's only been here for about a month and a half, but I think staying here with you has been pretty big for her. She's very protective of you, you know? Considering that she's a pirate that's something I wouldn't have expected."

Heero shook his head. "It's my responsibility to look after her; she doesn't need to protect me, regardless of what comes calling."

"I admire you for thinking that way," Washu replied, "especially given that you have only your combat skills and experience to rely on when confronted with a threat. However, given the power your companions possess I'd say that there's nothing wrong with leaning on them for help now and then. I certainly doubt that Ryoko would mind defending you!"

"Perhaps," said Heero, "I'll admit that I'm at a disadvantage when compared to her and Ayeka, but I'm not going to let myself become deadweight. I've gotten into more than my share of fights, and if there's one thing I've learned it's this; no matter how outgunned you are, you've always got ways to get a good hit in. You just have to find your opening and seize it."

Washu chuckled. "Very well put. You know, the more I hear you talk, the more I like you. You've got a pretty good head on your shoulders considering that you're from such a backwater planet. I think you'd do all right in the larger galaxy."

Heero couldn't help but smirk. "Maybe, but first I'd need to close the technology gap. I know my government's made strides in studying the remains of Mihoshi's ship along with Sasami's vessel, but we're still far behind what you and the rest of your civilization are capable of."

"True," said Washu, smirking as well, "but I think you can catch up. Who knows? I might just give you a hand!"

"I'm sure Sally and Lady Une would appreciate that," said Heero.

"Of course, I wouldn't do it for free!" Washu added with a wink.

"I find a hard time imagining how we could pay you," Heero deadpanned, "I doubt our money's worth all that much to you."

Washu grinned. "Oh, I'm sure I could find something here for you to reward me with!"

Heero chuckled. "I suppose you could."

Washu leaned forward and stretched her arms in front of her. "That's for another time, though. I may be a super genius, but even I get rusty after a few hundred years out cold. I'll need to refresh my mind before I get cracking on serious research again. Ah, well; I can entertain myself with some light stuff for a little while."

"What qualifies as 'light' for you?" asked Heero.

Washu shrugged. "Tactical-scale weapons, weather-altering devices, geological disruptors, genetic manipulation; two-bit fields, really."

 _That hardly strikes me as 'two-bit'_ , Heero thought, _and you're lucky Sally and the Director didn't hear you say any of that._

"I'm not going to have to worry about you burning down the house, am I?" he asked as his eyes narrowed.

Washu gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. "Relax, Heero. I'm not about to torch the place I live, accidentally or otherwise."

"That's comforting," said Heero, although he still wasn't entirely convinced that his new country house would be safe from his latest guest.

"You know," said Washu, "I'd also be willing to take on personal work from you."

"What do you mean?" asked Heero.

"Simple," Washu replied, "You're mainly a field operative, right? Your government has you watching over us for right now, but if a crisis pops up they'll probably want their top guy on it. In your line of work you need the best gear that you can get; I could help you with that."

She actually seemed to be quite serious about the idea, much to Heero's surprise. "I'll think about it."

Washu smiled knowingly. "You do that, handsome. Sooner or later I guarantee that you'll be coming to me for some fancy new gadgets!"

"As long as they don't blow up in my face," Heero said dryly.

"Hey, now!" said Washu indignantly, "The great Washu prides herself on top-notch quality work! Any personal items constructed by her come with a 'no-blowing-up-in-your-face' guarantee! This warranty is not applicable to devices that have become damaged due to external or hostile forces."

"You need to work on your sales pitch," Heero replied with a small shake of his head.

Washu laughed. "Well, what do you expect? I'm a scientist, not a businesswoman! Besides, the field of marketing is beneath someone like me. That's for people who have eyes only for cash and have no grander ambitions. It's a complete waste of my talents!"

Heero could not help but smirk slightly at her pride. "So it's research for research's sake with you? The money really doesn't matter?"

Washu nodded and grinned. "You got it!"

"I can respect that," said Heero, "In my line of work I've met a lot of people who only cared about either money or power; any broader ideals or beliefs that they'd had before had long since withered away. Finding people who can see beyond those two things and genuinely believe in their ideals and follow through with them is quite refreshing."

Washu gave him a playful nudge with her elbow. "You know, you act all calm and cool, but you're really just a big softy on the inside, aren't you? Come on, you can tell me the truth!"

Heero chuckled. "I suppose I am."

"Hah!" Washu laughed triumphantly, "Called it! And it makes perfect sense; why else would your bosses choose you to keep an eye on me and the others? You've got them all fooled with your stoic routine, so they listen to you, but when it comes down to it there's a warm heart in there that just wants to take care of them!"

"Don't go spreading that around," said Heero, "I do need them to have _some_ respect for me, after all."

Washu patted him on the shoulder. "Relax; I'll keep my mouth shut. Well, maybe!"

"Do you intend to blackmail me?" asked Heero dryly.

Washu smiled. "What, you? Never! I just think that what you told me is an interesting tidbit of information that I should hang onto. The others might find it valuable, but I think that if they haven't figured that out about you already then they don't deserve to hear it from me!"

"They might already know, to be honest," Heero replied, "or at least suspect. They have spent quite a bit of time with me already, you know."

Washu nodded. "Yeah, and if you're being this nice to a woman that you just met a couple days ago then I imagine that you've been pretty easy for the others to get along with. Still, no sense in letting them think you're totally soft, right?"

"Yes," said Heero, "I'd like to think they know that I can be forceful when the occasion calls for it."

"Oh, I'm sure that they do," said Washu, "I don't think they'd respect you otherwise."

"I hope you're right," said Heero.

Washu then stood up and offered him her hand. "Come on, Heero. The others are going to start worrying about you sooner or later."

Heero nodded and accepted her hand, allowing her to help him to his feet. "You're right. I've spent enough time out here."

"No one can blame you for wanting a little space," said Washu with a smile, "After all you put up with for us I think you deserve it."

"Thanks," said Heero, "Well, let's go."

He started moving towards the stepping stones, but he noticed that Washu wasn't following. Rather, her gaze was focused intently on the tree.

"Interesting…" he heard her murmur.

"What is it?" Heero asked.

Her brow furrowed in thought for a moment before she looked at him. "Heero, how old do you think this tree is?"

He was a bit taken aback by that question. "I'm not sure. Judging by the width of the trunk though, I wouldn't be surprised if its age was over a century or two."

"I'd wager it's a good deal older than that," said Washu, and a small smile crept onto her face.

Heero looked back and forth between her and the tree. "Do you know something?"

Washu chuckled. "For now, I have only suspicions. However… if they're right, then it would seem that I've landed on a _very_ interesting planet."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

Washu shook her head. "Not now. When the time's right, perhaps. Come, let's go."

As she walked past him and stepped out onto the first stone Heero looked back at the tree again. He recalled that Ayeka had paused to study the tree when the two of them had come out to this island before. Was there something about it that she and Washu recognized?

 _Whatever it is_ , he thought as he looked back at Washu, _it would seem that I'm not going to get a straight answer about it tonight. I suppose I'll just have to be patient. We shouldn't be going anywhere for a while, so I've got plenty of time to figure out how to solve this particular puzzle._

….

 **October 13** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Stepping out of the shower and wrapping his towel around him, Heero was about to go get dressed when the floor started shaking under him. Grabbing onto the counter to steady himself, Heero initially assumed it was a minor tremor and would pass soon; the Japan region was certainly no stranger to them. However, the shaking did not subside, and in fact seemed to be getting worse.

"Damn it," he growled as he rushed out of the bathroom, trying his best to keep both his footing and some measure of modesty, "Gotta find the others!"

Going as fast as he could under the circumstances, he went down to the second floor and found it to be empty. Continuing downstairs, Heero found his assorted houseguests all clinging to furniture in varying degrees of distress… with one notable exception.

 _Crap_ , he thought as he realized who was missing, _Don't tell me…_

"Where's Washu?" he asked.

"In her lab!" yelled Ryoko, "Damn it, this all her fault, isn't it?"

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka, "Please, stop her!"

"The whole house will fall down if this keeps up!" screamed Mihoshi.

"Oh dear," said Azaka, "I do hope that doesn't happen."

"It would be most unfortunate!" chimed in Kamidake.

"We need to get outside!" cried Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki as she tumbled all over the floor, unable to keep her footing in the shaking.

Sasami had the right idea. In an urban environment Heero would've recommended sheltering inside, but since they were out in the country things were different.

"All of you, get out front and away from the house!" he ordered, "I'll go into the lab and try to stop this!"

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka, "Are you sure?"

"We can help!" yelled Ryoko.

"Go!" he said, a little more forcefully than he'd intended but wanting to make sure they both knew that he was in no mood for arguing.

The two women nodded and joined the others in scrambling towards the front door. Heero followed them, but rather than head outside he then turned left and threw open the closet door. The shaking grew even worse the moment he did so, and Heero was more confident now that something inside the lab was causing all this.

"Washu!" he called as he went inside, "Are you still alive?"

"Heero!" he heard her yell in reply, "Give me a hand over here!"

Making his way through the lab as best as he could, Heero quickly found Washu. She was down on her hands and knees, taking shelter under a table. Were it not for the current situation Heero might've found the image to be amusing.

"What's going on?" he asked as he rushed over to her.

Washu crawled out from under the table and stood up, although her footing was quite uncertain. "Just help me stay on my feet and get me over to that console!"

She pointed past the table where there was a large monitor and a keyboard. The whole display was going haywire, and beyond that Heero could see a window that gave a view into what appeared to be some kind of testing chamber. Suspended in the air was a dark gray orb, and from the way it was violently vibrating Heero surmised that it was the source of the sudden earthquake.

Heero nodded. "All right, let's go."

Letting her put her arm around him for support, Heero started moving towards the console. At any other time he might be a bit more self-conscious of the fact that he was only wearing a towel and that a woman was holding onto him, but under the present circumstances that was the last thing on his mind.

"Almost there," he said.

"Good," said Washu, "Damn it, I must really be rusty if I screwed up something as simple as this…"

"Complain about it later," said Heero as they came up to the console, "Just shut it off!"

Washu nodded and reached towards the key pad. "Got it. Keep me standing, handsome!"

Heero braced her as best as he could while she typed in what he assumed to be the shutdown sequence for the device. He saw her smile as she hit the last key, but just before the device went inert it gave off one more powerful pulse and sent them both tumbling to the floor, with Washu landing right on top of Heero.

Heero groaned as his head hit the hard floor. However, apart from a small throbbing he seemed to be okay. The fact that the shaking was finally subsiding was a bonus.

However, what did _not_ improve the situation was the fact that he was now lying on his back on the floor of Washu's lab, with the red-headed mad scientist right on top of him, and he'd come in here wearing only a towel…

…which he _just_ realized had slipped off during the fall.

Looking up at Washu, he saw that she was straddling his waist, and there was a growing smile on her face as she became aware of their new situation. "Well, now… are you really that into me, Heero? Not that I'm complaining…"

Heero's hand was a blur as he grabbed the towel, slid out from under Washu and wrapped the towel back around his waist. "Don't get the wrong idea."

Washu chuckled as the two of them stood up. "Oh, it might be too late for that, handsome! Mmmm… you've got quite the body there, you know that? Tell me, when was the last time a qualified doctor gave you a physical exam? I'd be _more_ than willing to fill in as your new physician!"

"I'll pass on that," Heero replied, quite eager to change the subject, "What exactly are you doing in here?"

Washu shrugged. "Just a bit of testing. I really thought that the vibrations would be confined to the chamber. I guess I'm a little rustier than I thought."

"What were you testing?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing.

Washu grinned. "A localized earthquake generator. Imagine this; you're surrounded by ten guys, they've all got guns drawn on you, and then the suckers all fall to the floor because you triggered a tremor that effects _only_ where they're standing! Pretty neat, right?"

"In theory, yes," said Heero dryly, "It clearly needs some work; it wasn't nearly as precise as what you just described."

Washu folded her arms. "Hey, I'd like to see _you_ try to invent a personal earthquake generator that can target precise points! It's not exactly easy, you know?"

"Cleary," Heero replied, "One of several reasons why I don't intend to try making something like that."

Washu smiled. "You never know when something like this might come in handy. When I get the kinks worked out I'd be happy to offer the first production model to you! I certainly wouldn't mind having you field test it for me."

"We'll see," said Heero, having no intention of taking her up on that offer.

"Sir Heero!" he heard Ayeka cry out, "Are you all right?"

"You okay?" called Ryoko.

Heero turned and saw the two of them running towards him and Washu. "I thought I told you two to go outside with the others?"

"We felt the shaking subside," said Ayeka, "I apologize for my disobedience, but your safety is of paramount concern to me, Sir Heero!"

"I couldn't just sit out there!" said Ryoko, folding her arms, "Who knows what this psycho here could've gotten you into! She's crazier than Ayeka!"

"Hey!" Washu snapped, "Don't talk about your mother that way!"

"Bite me!" Ryoko quipped.

"That's enough," said Heero firmly, "As you can both see, I'm fine."

"Yes," said Ayeka, her pale face becoming red as she looked at him, "You certainly do appear to be… in good condition."

Ryoko smirked, although Heero could see a hint of red in her face as well. "Oh, yeah… you're looking _very_ good to me, Heero."

It was a rather unsubtle reminder of Heero's current attire, or lack thereof. He heard Washu chuckle, and he could practically _feel_ her eyeing him up and down.

"Well," said Washu, "I'm glad that everything turned out all right. You can come in here and help me out anytime, Heero. I wouldn't mind falling on top of you again!"

"What?" said Ayeka, her eyes widening and her blush growing considerably.

Ryoko glared at Washu. "Hey, just what the hell did you do?"

Washu smiled innocently. "Me? Why, nothing! I was just lucky that Heero was in here to break my fall when I lost my balance, that's all."

"You little fiend!" growled Ayeka.

"Lying witch," Ryoko snarled.

"Cut it out," said Heero, "Washu, if you're done trying to destroy the house for today, I'm going to finish getting cleaned."

Washu nodded and grinned. "All right; I guess I can put the Squad-Level Tactical Tremor Generator on hold for a while!"

"Good," said Heero as he walked out of the lab, leaving the three ladies behind him, "and you need to work on the name."

"I'm open to suggestions!" she replied.

"I'll pass," said Heero before shutting the door behind him.

 _Whatever I'm being paid_ , he thought as he headed upstairs, _it's not nearly enough to deal with this crap…_

….

 **October 16** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Sitting down on the wooden porch that wrapped around the front of the house, Mihoshi leaned back and smiled. "Ah, what a beautiful day!"

It certainly was. It may have been autumn, but the sky was surprisingly clear today. The hills were alive with bursts of red, orange, and yellow as the trees continued their seasonal transition, and a pleasantly cool breeze blew their leaves all around. The wind tussled Mihoshi's hair, and she reveled in the sensation.

 _It's so pretty out here_ , she thought, _I'm glad I get to live in a place like this with a guy like Heero, even if things have been a little crazy lately._

The incident with Washu's earthquake device was just the first of several to disturb their country household. Morning had barely become afternoon that day when the closet door had burst open and Washu had come running out with her ponytail on fire. After dousing the flames she'd dragged Heero and the others, including Mihoshi, into her lab to help deal with the cause; a frog that she had somehow captured and then mutated so that it could breath fire. A very energetic and frantic chase had resulted, and even though herding the creature and finally capturing it had been rather hectic work Mihoshi had actually enjoyed herself while doing so.

The following day had brought another mess upon them, courtesy of their resident mad scientist. It had resulted from what at first glance had seemed to be a relatively harmless experiment; Washu was trying to genetically modify carrots to make them more nutritious for Ryo-Ohki. However, the project had quickly taken a turn for the worse when one of the carrots had mutated into a four-legged monstrosity that was a meter tall and two meters long and could spit acid. Once again Heero, Mihoshi, and the others had been drafted in to contain the beast, and upon defeating it Washu had Ryoko kill it and serve it up to Ryo-Ohki as a feast. As far as Mihoshi could tell the cute little furball hadn't eaten anything at all since then, and it would likely be a few more days before she finally worked off all the excess food she had consumed and would be able to partake in her usual meals.

The rest of the incidents following that had been relatively minor, but they'd all stemmed from the same source; Washu's lab. While the others might grumble about the unpredictability of their newest houseguest, Mihoshi actually enjoyed it. As far as she was concerned Washu was making things exciting, and since no one had been seriously hurt she felt that there was no harm in the legendary mad scientist's antics.

 _Things have become pretty lively lately_ , she thought with a smile, _It's hard to know what's going to happen next!_

That sentiment really seemed to sum up her recent life quite well. She had landed on a remote world, gotten into a fight with a notorious space pirate, a princess of Jurai, and a local law enforcement officer. Then she had wound up befriending them and moving in with them. Then Ryo-Ohki and Sasami had shown up, a crash had prevented her from returning home, and they'd all moved out to the country. Now they'd unearthed an exiled scientist who had proceeded to join their growing family, and who could say what the future held for them going forward?

This certainly wasn't where Mihoshi had pictured herself being at this point in her career with the Galaxy Police, but she wasn't complaining. Life was strange right now to be sure, but it was also _fun_. Everyday felt like a carnival of course, and if Mihoshi thought of it as a vacation then it was the best leave that she'd ever had.

She looked down at the small pink cube that was sitting in her lap. Life was fun right now, but it was missing something.

Or rather, _someone_.

 _I wonder how she's doing_ , thought Mihoshi, _She still hasn't found me… no one from the Galaxy Police has, actually. I wonder if they ever got my signal._

The small pink cube that she was holding was her personal distress beacon, a standard issue piece of equipment that all Galaxy Police officers were required to carry. Following her training, she had activated it soon after landing on this world, but it had yet to draw any of her colleagues to Earth. It was supposed to emit a strong signal, but the planet she was on was located pretty far back in the Outland Sector, and Mihoshi had to wonder if she was simply too far away from the standard patrol routes for anyone to pick up her beacon's message.

Someone should've noticed that she hadn't reported back to HQ by now. Standard Galaxy Police procedure under such circumstances would be to send another officer out to the area where she had last been stationed to do a search. That search had to be underway by now, right?

Even if it was, though, it was impossible to say how long it might take them to pick up on her beacon. The Outland Sector was vast, and if a major crisis came up it was always possible that the Galaxy Police would divert all resources to confront it; a search mission for a missing Detective First Class would be a fairly low priority at that point.

"Are you homesick?" asked a familiar male voice.

Mihoshi jumped. Turning around she saw Heero standing behind her. How he had approached her so quietly she hadn't a clue; moving without making a sound almost seemed to be second nature for him.

Mihoshi smiled. "Heero! How long were you there?"

"Not long," he replied, nodding at the spot right next to her, "Mind if I join you?"

Mihoshi shook her head, surprised that he wanted to spend time with her. "Please!"

He sat down and looked at the device that she was holding. "That's your beacon, right?"

Mihoshi nodded. "Yeah. It's been active ever since I landed here, but…"

"There's been no response from the Galaxy Police," Heero finished for her, "The only ship we've seen out here since your arrival has been Sasami's. Is that just a beacon, or is it also a two-way transmitter?"

Mihoshi shook her head. "Nope, just a beacon. All my long range communication gear was trashed when my ship went down."

"I see," said Heero, and Mihoshi was surprised to see a rather gentle light in his eyes, "I've been so focused on trying to keep an eye on all of you that I really hadn't stopped to consider what your stay here might be doing to you. You've been apart from everyone you know for quite some time now; that can't be easy."

Mihoshi smiled again. Heero wasn't the most expressive guy, but she could tell that he was genuinely concerned about her.

"Oh, I'm okay!" she replied, "You've been really nice to me, and I like being here with you and the others. It's been so much fun!"

Heero chuckled. "Perhaps a little too fun at some points."

Mihoshi shook her head. "No, silly, you can never have too much fun! There's always room for more!"

Heero sighed, and Mihoshi could see a very small smile work its way onto his face. "Clearly you have the energy for it. Where you get it from, I'll never know."

"I've always been like this!" said Mihoshi, "You only live once, right? You have to make the most out of life!"

"You've got quite the positive attitude," said Heero, "Forgive me for saying this, but I'm a little surprised that someone in your line of work can have such boundless optimism."

Mihoshi was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You're a police officer," Heero replied, "You must've seen some unpleasant things in your line of work."

Mihoshi shook her head. "It hasn't been that bad."

She then looked down, some of the doubts she'd long kept hidden starting to come forward. "Although…"

"What is it?" he asked.

She turned towards him again. This wasn't something she was usually comfortable talking about, but Heero had been so patient and understanding with her since she'd started living with him that she found him very easy to open up to. In the end she felt that if there was someone here that she could really talk about something like this with, it was him.

"Can I tell you something personal?" she asked.

Heero nodded. "If you're comfortable with it. I won't spread anything that you want me to keep quiet unless it's a threat to the Earth, in which case I'll have no choice but to report it to my superiors."

Mihoshi nodded. "I understand. Don't worry, it's nothing like that."

"All right," said Heero, "So, what's bothering you?"

Mihoshi sighed. "Well, the truth is… I don't think I'm a very good police officer."

"What makes you say that?" asked Heero.

"It's complicated," said Mihoshi, "and kind of a long story, too."

"I've got time if you do," Heero replied.

Mihoshi smiled. "You're a really nice guy, you know that?"

"So you tell me," said Heero, "I won't argue the point this time. So, where did you want to start?"

"I think my family and the academy would be good," said Mihoshi, "My father's the Chief Superintendant of the Galaxy Police; he pretty much runs the whole organization. He's been a member since before I was born. Whenever he was home I'd always ask him to tell me stories about the arrests he and his friends made; that was before he got up so high in the ranks, of course. I lived for stuff like that."

Heero nodded, and there was an understanding look in his eyes. "You didn't join the Galaxy Police just because it was a family tradition, did you? You genuinely wanted to be a law enforcement officer."

Mihoshi grinned. "Yup! All my life!"

"That's good," said Heero, "If your job is one that you've always wanted, then I would call that a big success in your life."

"Thanks," Mihoshi replied, "but I almost didn't get it at all. I managed to get into the academy when I was old enough, and I tried to study hard, but… well, I was never a very good student. I'm easily distracted, and the Galaxy Police Academy is on a massive space station where there's a lot to see and do."

"It can't have been that bad," said Heero, "You did graduate, after all. You must've had strengths that your teachers recognized."

"Well," said Mihoshi, "there were some things that I was good at. I did pretty well in the physical training sections of the curriculum; I've always been pretty in shape, after all. I could figure out how to use most of our equipment, too… although there were some mistakes that I made along the way, and I still have trouble with a few pieces of gear."

"I see," said Heero, "So if those areas weren't what gave you the most trouble, then what did?"

Mihoshi sighed. "Regulations and astrophysics. It's not enough to be able to know how to chase and take down a suspect. You have to do it properly, and that means going by the rules one hundred percent. I couldn't memorize the statutes and regulations for the life of me, even some of the easy ones. And as for astrophysics… well, that made my head spin."

"Astrophysics seems like an odd topic for a police officer to have to study," said Heero, his eyes narrowing.

"Well," Mihoshi replied, "it would be if we were based only on the ground, but we're not. We patrol the entire galaxy, and we have a really big fleet that's responsible for all sorts of duties in outer space. Customs enforcement, anti-pirate patrol, search and rescue, traffic collision response, VIP escort; our duties outside a planet's atmosphere cover a huge variety of missions."

Heero nodded. "I see. I guess it does make sense; the word 'galaxy' is in your organization's name, after all. Plus, you did arrive here in your own ship."

Mihoshi smiled. "Yup! Every member of the Galaxy Police has to understand the complexities of interstellar travel and be flight certified both in atmosphere and in outer space. There is a special group that trains solely as pilots, but they only work with our elite Special Tactics Division. Regular Galaxy Police officers, however, are required to qualify as both agents of law enforcement and as certified pilots capable of traversing every star system within our jurisdiction."

"In that regard, I'd say your job's a lot harder than mine," said Heero, and Mihoshi was surprised by the level of respect in his tone and expression, "I have experience operating on Earth, in the colonies, and in outer space, but that's really only within the area we call the Earth Sphere. The sheer distances that you're required to cover are far greater than anything I've had to work with before. I can see why studying that field would've given you problems."

Mihoshi sighed. "That's not even the worst part."

"Really?" asked Heero, "What else do you have to deal with?"

Mihoshi looked down gloomily. " _Me_. I can be… a big scatterbrain sometimes. I'm easily distracted. Everyone knows it, especially me. I'm my own worst enemy, Heero."

"That might be a trait that would've caused you difficulty in your studies," Heero replied, "but you still graduated, right? You must've found a way to work past it."

Mihoshi smiled. "Yeah. I made a good friend. She can be a bit strict sometimes, but it's because of her that I was able to clamp down and study. I still spaced out and got sidetracked sometimes, but she kept bringing me back to what was really important. I wouldn't have made it through the academy without her."

"It sounds like she really cared about you," said Heero, "Otherwise she wouldn't have pushed so hard to help you pass your tests and graduate."

"Yup," said Mihoshi, "She was great. We even became partners after graduation! It was amazing!"

"If she was your partner," said Heero, "then why wasn't she with you when you came out here?"

"Well," said Mihoshi, "most of the time partners will use the same cruiser. However, sometimes Headquarters will have partners split off into temporary solo assignments to cover more territory, or to fill in for another officer. That's what happened to me; one of our comrades was hurt on the job and recovering, so our superiors assigned me to cover their particular patrol route in the Outland Sector, and that just so happened to include Earth! How's that for a coincidence?"

"It's a pretty big one," Heero replied, "Do you think your partner will come out this way eventually?"

"I hope she does," said Mihoshi, "Although…"

"What is it?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing.

Mihoshi sighed. "If she finds me, I know that she'll scold me. It'll be pretty bad, too. I crashed my ship, let you disable my armor, I failed to capture Ryoko, and even got my identification and regulation guide destroyed. She's going to be so mad at me!"

"I think that would be only because she'd be worried about you," said Heero, "She'd probably be glad in her heart to find you safe and sound."

"Maybe," said Mihoshi, "but still… she'd really let me have it. It wouldn't be the first time, either."

"You two have had trouble in the past?" asked Heero.

Mihoshi nodded. "Yeah, and it's all my fault."

"I don't think you're being very fair to yourself," said Heero, "Partnerships are a two-way street; whatever problems there are can't be solely placed on the shoulders of one person. If there are difficulties in your professional relationship they can't be completely your doing."

Mihoshi shook her head. It was sweet of Heero to try and cheer her up like this, and she appreciated his words, but in this case she knew that he was mistaken.

"Sorry," she said, "but you're wrong about that. That scatterbrain problem that I mentioned before? Well, I carried that with me from the academy into my career. Sometimes it feels like our missions have been one string of accidents after another, and I _know_ that they've all been my fault. It's bad enough that I keep screwing up, but my mistakes also affect my partner. I don't want to be a burden to her like that!"

"So keep working to better yourself," Heero replied, "It's good that you recognize that you recognize your flaws, but you can't let them define you and weigh you down like this. As long as you continue to strive for self-improvement, you'll eventually find a way to overcome your difficulties."

Mihoshi smiled. "You think so?"

Heero nodded. "I do. You're a better woman than you give yourself credit for, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi looked down, fighting very hard to keep him from seeing her blush. "Thank you…"

 _He's just too nice to me_ , she thought as she glanced over at him, _and he's handsome… oh, why does he do this to me?_

Mihoshi wasn't completely clueless when it came to boys, but her experience with them was still rather limited. That was mostly due to her rather hapless nature; it was a rare man indeed that could withstand the deluge of accidents that seemed to follow her wherever she went. None had come anywhere near close to showing the same level of patience with her that Heero gave her, and that was almost as attractive to Mihoshi as his looks.

 _If he worked the same job as me_ , she thought, _I… I could date him. Maybe I should try to recruit him?_

It wasn't the first time that idea had crossed her mind. The Galaxy Police had strict regulations regarding contact with civilizations that were not considered to be ready for exposure to the wider galactic community. Those rules extended to fraternization with individual members of such a race, and they were much stricter than those that applied to dating within the ranks of the Galaxy Police. However, Heero had proven himself to be such an exceptional individual that Mihoshi was sure that an exception could be made for someone like him. He was already a talented peace officer on his world, and she knew that he would do very well if he were allowed to join the Galaxy Police.

 _He'd probably ace all the academy courses_ , she mused, _and they wouldn't stick someone like him on traffic duty. He'd get to work the big cases, make the big arrests… he'd be a super star in no time!_

"What's up?" asked Heero.

Mihoshi nearly jumped. She'd gotten completely caught up in her thoughts. Actually, a fantasy might be a better way to describe it. Heero as a Galaxy Police officer? That was an idea that she could _definitely_ get behind. If nothing else, she was willing to bet that he'd look good in the uniform.

"Oh, nothing!" she said, "Nothing at all!"

The look in his eyes said that he didn't buy it, but he didn't seem eager to press her. In the end he simply shrugged and looked out towards the lake.

"So," he said, "if a member of the Galaxy Police does come out here looking for you, what should we do?"

"Well," said Mihoshi, "if they get close enough to this system they'll definitely detect my beacon. Once they approach Earth they'll be able to narrow down my exact location, which means that they'll be landing out here. I think that if you and I greet them together things should be okay."

Heero nodded. "Sounds good. Of course, with the way things stand now it could be a very long time before one of your colleagues makes it out here. Will you be all right?"

Mihoshi smiled, once again touched by his concern for her. "Yup! After all, I've got you here looking after me, right? As long as I stay with you I'll be fine!"

She was surprised to see Heero give her a small smile in return. "In that case, I'll do all I can to watch over you, Mihoshi. I know the others can get frustrated with you sometimes whenever you make a mistake or cause an accident, but I want you to know that no matter what happens you will always be welcome here."

"Aw," said Mihoshi, feeling herself blush again, "Thanks, Heero!"

"You're welcome," he replied, "If you don't mind me asking, what's your partner like?"

"My partner?" said Mihoshi, "Well, for starters she's very smart. Like I said before, I wouldn't have made it through the academy without her helping me study. She was close to the top of our class in every single category!"

Heero nodded. "She sounds like a very clever woman."

"Oh, yeah," Mihoshi replied, "and not just that; she's also pretty tough. She's really good in a fight. Guns, her fists, her power armor… she's way better than me with all of those."

"Have you ever fought against her?" asked Heero, "For practice, I mean."

Mihoshi nodded. "We've had some training fights. She beat me every time."

"I see," said Heero, "What's she like as a person?"

Mihoshi smiled. "Well, she's pretty nice. She was patient enough to put up with me, after all. She's also very disciplined, which is another part of how she helped me get through the academy. She knows all the rules by heart. She can also be pretty scary when she's angry…"

"Do you think she'd be willing to cooperate with me if she comes out here looking for you?" asked Heero.

Mihoshi nodded. "Yup. Actually, I think that she'd like you!"

"Really?" asked Heero.

"Oh, yeah," said Mihoshi, "You're smart, disciplined, strong, kind and handsome! You two would get along really well!"

All those traits that she had mentioned would indeed appeal to her partner. However, what Mihoshi had left unspoken was that those same traits very much appealed to _her_ as well. Now that she thought about it, if her partner _did_ arrive here and meet Heero, would she start developing the same feelings towards him that Mihoshi had? That was a dilemma that she hadn't really considered before, and it made Mihoshi a little flustered.

 _Oh, no_ , she thought, _What should I do? I mean, I want her to find me, but… but I really like Heero! What if she starts liking him the same way that I do? I don't want me and her to become like Ayeka and Ryoko!_

"Everything okay?" asked Heero.

Mihoshi smiled again, hoping to hide her sudden discomfort. "Yup, all good!"

She looked up at the sky again. She wondered where her partner was right now? Was she out on patrol, or back at Headquarters? Was she still assigned to the same area, or had she been transferred?

Would she ever see her again?

 _I hope you're okay. I really do miss you…_

 _…Kiyone._

….

A sharp buzzing sound forcing her from her slumber, Kiyone Makibi fumbled around with her hand until she finally found the button on her bedside clock that killed the alarm. Pushing herself up and then stretching her arms, the Detective First Class looked out the viewport of her Galaxy Police cruiser _Yagami_ , staring at her reflection and the stars beyond.

Looking back at her was an image of a lovely young woman. Her dark blue-green hair was rather messy given that she had just woken up, but Kiyone had been told in the past that it looked very nice when she was cleaned up. Her eyes were a nearly perfect match for her hair, and while they were a little dull now they became sharp and focused while she was on the job. The turquoise shorts and tank-top that she had slept in still left plenty of her pale skin exposed, along with a very athletic body that had been sharply honed by both training at the Galaxy Police Academy and her years of service in the organization since then.

"That time already, huh?" she said as she glanced over at the clock again, "Well, guess it's time for another day on the job."

Climbing out of bed, she headed over to the bathroom. About ten minutes later she was all freshened up and dressed in her blue Galaxy Police uniform. It was standard issue, but Kiyone complemented it with a red headband to help keep her bangs out her face. She'd been told by more than a few people that she looked good in the uniform, and as she admired herself in the mirror she had to smile in agreement with that assessment.

Her stomach growled, and Kiyone took that as her cue to go start up some breakfast. Making her way to _Yagami_ 's small kitchen, it didn't take her long to fix up some food. Settling down at the table nearby, she looked over at the small memorial shrine that she had set up for her partner. It wasn't much; just a couple pictures mounted on the counter of her and a certain blonde haired, blue eyed and dark skinned woman.

 _Mihoshi_ , she thought as she looked at the pictures, _it's been over a month since you disappeared and were declared M.I.A. After so much time, everyone thinks you're dead… including me._

Kiyone closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened again she was smiling.

 _And thanks to that, I'm free!_

Ever since graduating from the academy and being paired up with Mihoshi, Kiyone's career had consisted of one disaster after another. Oh, where was one to _start_ with the incidents and catastrophes? The time where they'd accidentally rammed a Juraian diplomatic cruiser because Mihoshi had set it as a target for the autopilot? Or when she'd accidentally set the interior of a hijacked agricultural barge ablaze in pursuit of a suspect? How about when she'd been trying to tranquilize a hostage taker and instead accidentally shot the negotiator instead?

 _It was one nightmare after another_ , Kiyone thought with a cringe, _and it was so unfair! I finished at nearly the top of my class; they said I would be on the fast track to promotion to the upper ranks in no time! Instead my career went down the tubes, and it was all because of my moron of a partner!_

That dismal death spiral for her career had been averted the moment Mihoshi had been declared M.I.A. Kiyone knew that it was wrong to look on the bright side of what was undoubtedly her partner's death, but things had started improving almost immediately. Granted, right now she was still stuck patrolling the Outland Sector, but already her record had taken a turn for the better. In the past month alone she'd successfully intercepted two pirate attacks on civilian transports, had chased down and captured a smuggler, made several traffic stops for pilots flying illegally modified craft, and had been first to arrive on the scene at a collision and had successfully kept both craft from falling into a gas giant. Those were all small items in and of themselves, but Kiyone knew that with enough of them she could start to clean up her record and get recognized by the brass for eventual transfer back to the core systems where the real action and promotional opportunities were at.

In about a year or so she would be on track for recognition and advancement. As long as she continued to work hard and be diligent in her duties she would be able to not only salvage her career but rise above its ignominious beginning. Surely her commanding officer would look at her file when the time came for her annual performance review and take note of the improvement in her record. From there it was just a matter of time before her name found its way to the Promotional Board for consideration.

 _It might take more than one review_ , she mused as she ate, _I mean, with my record while Mihoshi was my partner I've got some serious damage to my reputation. It won't get better overnight. Still, if I keep at it I know I'll be able to get my career back to where it should be!_

It was best not to get too far ahead of herself, though. For now Kiyone would take things one day at a time. A patient and measured approach would be the best to climbing out of the metaphorical hole that she was stuck in. Consistency and reliability were traits highly valued by the upper echelons of the Galaxy Police, and if Kiyone could demonstrate those then she would begin her long overdue rise to greatness soon enough.

Kiyone smiled as she finished up her food. "All right. Time to start my shift."

Cleaning up first, she then headed over to _Yagami_ 's cockpit. Taking her seat in the pilot's chair, she looked to her right at the copilot's post. She had to admit that she was still getting used to not seeing Mihoshi there, and despite her relief at being free of her cumbersome partner there was a small pang in her heart, a certain bit of nostalgia. Times had been crazy when she was partnered up with Mihoshi… but there had been a few bright spots there as well. If nothing else, her old partner was a fun woman, one who could always be counted on for entertainment in one form or another.

 _Too much entertainment, really_ , she thought as she checked her cruiser's systems over, _I'm not sure how much longer I could've dealt with her. Where she found all that energy I'll never know. And how one person could be such an airhead and still be alive in this universe is beyond me!_

Seeing that all of _Yagami_ 's systems were in working order, Kiyone tapped a key on her console and brought up a new screen to see if any new instructions from Headquarters had come through. Studying the monitor, she saw that nothing had changed since she'd last checked in.

"Still on the same patrol route, huh?" she said, "Well, I guess I could use a quiet day at work."

She'd been working this particular stretch of space for about a week now. It was nothing special; an off branch of one of the main commerce lanes that went through the Outland Sector. There were a handful of inhabited systems out this way but they weren't anything to write home about. Incidents out here tended to be pretty minor, but the Galaxy Police still wanted _someone_ to be monitoring the area, and right now that just so happened to be her.

"Okay," she said, "Let's get moving, _Yagami_."

However, before she could switch over from autopilot to manual she saw a blue light blink on one of her consoles. At the same time she heard a chime, and checking her screen she saw that it was an incoming transmission from Headquarters.

 _Huh_ , she thought, _I wonder what's up…_

Tapping a key on her screen, she saluted as her immediate superior appeared on the monitor. "Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi, reporting for duty, sir!"

Chief Muraka, a middle-aged man with a thick brown beard, nodded on the screen. "At ease, Makibi."

Kiyone nodded and relaxed in her chair. "What can I do for you, Chief?"

"We got a ping recently from one of our long range recon probes," said the Chief, "The source was pretty far back in the Outland Sector. About as close to the edge of the map as you can get."

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Really? What was the code it sent? Pirates?"

Chief Muraka shook his head. "No, it's actually a distress code. It appears to have picked up on a beacon."

Kiyone nodded. "I see. I assume it's civilian in origin, correct? The Imperials don't have much of a presence out here, after all."

"Actually, it's neither civilian or Imperial," said the Chief, "It's a Galaxy Police beacon."

Kiyone's eyes widened. "An officer's in trouble? Do we know who?"

"Well, here's the thing," said the Chief, "This particular part of the Outland Sector where the transmission's coming from… is actually where your former partner was last stationed."

Kiyone's face paled; she _couldn't_ have heard that right. "Sir… can you repeat that, please?"

The Chief nodded. "Long story short, that beacon appears to belong to Mihoshi. Since you were her partner before she went missing, I want you to go check it out."

"Sir!" said Kiyone, fighting to keep the panic out of her voice, "Are you _sure_ that this is an authentic Galaxy Police beacon we're dealing with here?"

Chief Muraka folded his arms. "Are you questioning a superior officer, Detective Makibi?"

Kiyone quickly shook her head. "No, sir! I only wish to make sure that I'll be going after a genuine distress call instead of a possible pirate ambush."

"The signal's been authenticated," the Chief replied, "The code's confirmed as that of Detective First Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu's beacon. Makibi, your orders are to investigate at once. Coordinates will follow this transmission."

Kiyone nodded, doing her best to conceal the growing sense of defeat within her. "Understood, sir."

"Good luck, Detective," said the Chief, "Headquarters, out."

As soon as her commanding officer disappeared from the screen Kiyone slumped down in her chair. "No… why now? Why me? It's not fair!"

A few seconds later her monitor flashed again, and Kiyone's depression only grew when she saw that it was the set of coordinates that the Chief had mentioned. She'd been given an official order, and like a good officer Kiyone would not refuse it. However, that didn't mean that she had to be enthusiastic about her new assignment.

 _Oh, please, please, please_ , she silently begged whatever divine entities existed in the universe, _**please**_ _don't let Mihoshi be alive!_

….

 **October 17** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Sitting down on the wooden porch, Heero took a sip from the cup of tea he was holding and nodded in approval. "That's pretty good. She's getting better at this."

'She', of course, was Sasami. The younger Juraian princess had lately been seizing every chance she could get to make food or beverages, regardless of the occasion. It seemed to be an activity that Sasami found genuine enjoyment in, and if she loved it that much then Heero was quite willing to indulge her. Of all the girls that had taken up residence with him she was by far the easiest to handle, and Heero would privately admit that he had become rather fond of her.

 _Sometimes I feel like she's become_ my _younger sister_ , he mused as he took another sip of tea, _I hope Ayeka doesn't mind that._

"How is it, Heero?" he heard Sasami through the open screen door.

Heero looked back at her and nodded. "It's nice. You did a good job, Sasami."

Sasami smiled. "Thanks! Does Mihoshi want some?"

Heero glanced off to his right, where a meter or two away the blonde space cop was taking an afternoon snooze. "I think she's good for right now."

"I'll take some!" said Ryoko from her spot on the couch.

"I'll have a cup as well please, Sasami," said Ayeka, who was on the opposite end.

"How about you, Washu?" asked Sasami.

The red-headed mad scientist was sitting between Ryoko and Ayeka, and she gave Sasami a smile and a nod. "That'd be nice. Thanks."

"Sure," said Sasami, "Coming right up!"

"Ah," said Azaka, and if the cylindrical guardian had had a face Heero was quite sure it would be smiling right now, "What a lovely and peaceful day this is turning out to be!"

"Indeed!" Kamidake chimed in, "It's quite refreshing!"

 _Agreed_ , Heero mused, _I'll take as many days like this as I can get._

Given the rather rambunctious group of ladies that he was playing host to, Heero was quite frankly amazed at how calm today had been so far. It was early afternoon and as of right now there hadn't been a single incident of note in the past twenty-four hours. They'd all eaten lunch a little bit ago and were now simply relaxing. Even Washu had come out of her lab to join them, and she was currently watching TV with Ryoko and Ayeka while Sasami made refreshments, Ryo-Ohki munched on a carrot, and Heero and Mihoshi chilled out on the porch, leaving the screen door open to allow the cool afternoon breeze to go into the house.

It was an almost idyllic day, the kind of which that Heero had not experienced since… well, _ever_ , really. If someone had told him just a few months ago that he'd be sharing a country home with a bunch of women from outer space and be enjoying a peaceful afternoon like this he would've had them checked into an institution. It was just one more example of how strange his life had become.

Strange… but surprisingly pleasant.

 _I've got no complaints_ , he thought as a small smile appeared on his face, _I haven't had to take a life in quite some time. Not since Ryoko and Ayeka showed up here and started all this. My life's become unusual to say the least, but in the process I've become something more than a knife for the government to wield in the shadows. Now… I guess I'm a caretaker of sorts. I much prefer that to being an angel of death._

His smile faded. Ryoko, Ayeka, and the others… they accepted him as their host and guardian, but would that acceptance continue if they found out just what he'd really done in the past? Heero wasn't a fool; the image that they had cultivated of him was missing a vital piece, one that he had been deliberately withholding from them. They might have some questions, but overall their view of him was a rather noble one. However, if they learned the truth, Heero doubted that their impression of him would remain a positive one.

He took another sip of his tea. Whether they ultimately learned of his past and his true self or not was something that could very well be out of his hands. It was impossible to say what the future might hold for him with how unpredictable his life had become ever since this group of women had dropped into his world. The best Heero could do was really just play things day by day. If his past was forced into the light then he would not shy from whatever criticism and scrutiny the others would undoubtedly throw at him, but for now he would keep such matters under wraps for as long as possible.

 _I think the only ones who have shown any real interest in my past so far have been Ryoko and Ayeka_ , he mused, _and that's been intermittent, really. They haven't pressed me on it recently, and if they're not pursuing it right now then I certainly won't be the one to bring it up in conversation._

There was no need to do so at present anyway, especially not on a day like this. Such a peaceful and pleasant day as this was meant to be savored, and Heero would not be the one to ruin the mood. Raising his cup again, he drank his tea and then looked up at the sky. There were some clouds, but the sun was still quite visible. The weather truly was very lovely for this time of year, and Heero had to wonder how many more such days were left for this year. Autumn would become winter soon enough, although truth be told Heero was actually looking forward to that transition, especially since a place like this was quite likely to get some decent snowfall when the time came.

 _Perhaps we could all have a snowball fight_ , he thought, a small smile appearing on his face again, _That would be fun… as long as Ryoko and Ayeka don't get carried away._

Heero shook his head. A snowball fight? Why had something like that wormed its way into his head? He didn't use to think about stuff like that whenever winter approached. He chalked it up to just one more of the several interesting effects his guests were having on him.

He felt his smart phone vibrate in his pants pocket. Pulling the device out, he saw Sally's name on the caller ID.

"What's up?" he asked as he answered the phone.

"Are you alone?" Sally responded.

Heero looked at the snoozing Mihoshi and the rest of the crowd back inside the house. "No, but no one's really paying attention to me right now."

"I see," said Sally, "What's Mihoshi up to?"

Heero was a bit taken aback at that particular question. "She's taking a nap. Sally, what's going on?"

"No sense in beating around the bush," she replied, "Heero… you're about to have company."

Heero looked up at the sky; he highly doubted that the 'company' that Sally was warning him about was of terrestrial origin. "Do you have a visual?"

"Yes," said Sally, "I'm sending you photos now. I think you'll find the design to be familiar."

Looking at the phone, Heero saw a few images move across the screen. Sally was right about the new contact looking familiar; the streamlined design reminded him of Mihoshi's ship. However, this craft was crimson instead of grey, and it was considerably larger. In fact, it looked to be nearly twice as large as Mihoshi's vessel, if not more.

"Galaxy Police?" he said.

"That's my guess," said Sally, "I'm assuming that they're here for her."

"Hold on," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "You said that _I_ was about to have company, but Mihoshi's craft crashed at the lake near Brussels, not out here. Are you sure that this new contact is coming my way?"

"We've confirmed their approach vector," said Sally, "Heero, can you think of anything that's happened that would draw a ship towards your new home?"

His conversation with Mihoshi from the day before flashed through his head, and he recalled the odd pink cube that she'd been holding.

 _Her beacon_ , he thought, _I guess someone picked up on it after all._

"If I had to guess," he said, "I think someone's picked up on Mihoshi's portable distress beacon. She took that with her when she came with us out here."

"I see," said Sally, "Well, I'll leave the handling of this encounter in your hands, Heero. Try to keep things civil until I can arrange another flight out there, okay?"

"Roger that," Heero replied, "I'll gear up just in case things go sideways."

"Better make it quick," said Sally, "They'll be right on top of you in a few minutes."

"Duly noted," said Heero.

"Good luck," said Sally, "Water, out."

Heero sighed as Sally ended the call. So much for today being quiet and relaxing. On the bright side, the fact that whoever was coming was heading this way rather towards the capital would make his job a little easier by cutting down on potential witnesses. Sure, there was still the shrine keeper to worry about, but seeing as he lived up the hill and had been quite calm about Washu Heero did not think that he needed to be too concerned about his neighbor. If anything, Heero knew that he should probably be more concerned about the reactions of the women he was charged with caring for rather than those of the priest.

 _Whatever happens, happens_ , he thought as he looked up at the sky again, _I'll just have to be ready for anything…_

….

Kiyone calmly worked the controls as her ship entered the upper atmosphere. On her approach to the planet she had noticed the large number of orbital habitats and had made sure to chart a course that would minimize her risk of exposure to their inhabitants. Even so, there was always the chance that someone had spotted her, so she knew that she would have to make her search as quick as possible.

 _Just find her beacon and get out_ , she thought, _If it's just her beacon and nothing else, great. If it actually_ is _Mihoshi, well… I guess I'll just have to kiss my career prospects goodbye. Again…_

She sighed. Who had the worst luck in the galaxy? Was it Mihoshi, or her? Sure, Mihoshi's cluelessness and status as a walking disaster area might've been the source of all her career mishaps, but then again, since Kiyone was stuck with her as her partner and unable to change that, could it not just as easily be argued that _her_ luck was about as abysmal as one could possibly have?

Kiyone shook her head. Luck didn't matter right now. She had her mission, so she would perform that mission to the best of her abilities. If nothing else, retrieving a stranded comrade would look good on her record, right?

Kiyone groaned. She was already trying to put a silver lining behind the possibility of finding Mihoshi. Was that what things had come down to now? Had her life really become such a disaster that she was now forced to find the bright side of every bit of misfortune that came her way?

"Stay focused," she told herself, "It just picked up the beacon transmission, nothing more. Someone could've already picked her up and she just left the stupid thing behind. That's something she'd do, right?"

 _Or I'm just in one giant case of denial right now_ , she mused, _I can't be faulted for that, can I? Come on, universe; can't you cut me some slack just this once?_

Then again, this _was_ Mihoshi she was dealing with here. The universe had never cut her any slack as far as her partner was concerned, and there was no reason to believe that it would start doing so now.

Checking _Yagami_ 's surface scans, she saw that the area where the beacon signal was coming from appeared to be fairly remote. It was up in the foothills near the base of a mountain, and from the looks of things the region was sparsely populated. That was good news for Kiyone; it would cut down on potential complications from the locals.

She could feel her cruiser vibrate slightly as it descended through the atmosphere, but overall the ride was quite smooth. This was to be expected; _Yagami_ was a top of the line patrol cruiser equipped with highly advanced Galaxy Police technology, and that included inertial dampeners designed to reduce the stress of atmospheric entry on pilots. Kiyone was pleased that the system was in full working order; the last thing she wanted to have to worry about was getting thrown out of her seat and losing control of her ship thanks to faulty equipment.

"So far, so good," she said, "Now, let's see if we can narrow down that beacon's location."

Rescanning the area as she continued her descent, Kiyone watched the image on her screen shift. Now it was much more zoomed in, and she could make out what appeared to be a small lake with an island in the middle of it. Off to one side was a large house, while further away was a set of stairs that led up a hill towards what appeared to be a shrine.

 _Looks like she might've made contact with the locals_ , she thought with a sigh, _Well, it's Mihoshi, so I really shouldn't be surprised by that. I just hope that she hasn't told them too much about who she is._

It was logical to assume that if the beacon signal was coming from or nearby the house then Mihoshi was probably staying there as well. Since this place appeared to be out in the middle of nowhere Kiyone could dispense with subtlety and make a more direct approach. She's station her cruiser right over the lake, head down to the surface, grab her partner and get out. At this point it didn't matter if some country bumpkins saw her; since this planet was isolated Kiyone doubted its leaders even believed in the possibility of life from beyond their world, so anyone in power was unlikely to believe the ramblings of some commoners from way out in the country.

Checking her monitor, Kiyone made the final adjustments as the _Yagami_ entered the last phase of its descent. The vessel slowed down, and the images on the screen were now much clearer. Before her was an elevated region alight in the colors of this world's autumn. On another occasion Kiyone might've stopped to admire the view, but she did not have time for that today.

Her sensors zoomed in even further, and Kiyone's eyes narrowed as she was able to make out what appeared to be a person standing in front of the house. Kiyone couldn't make out any details quite yet, and she wondered if the local had already spotted her.

"Well, now," she said as she fine-tuned her scopes, "Let's see if we can get a better look at you, stranger."

A few seconds later she was able to get a more refined image of the figure. It was a male who appeared to be no older than Kiyone; indeed, she suspected that he was actually younger. He was dressed simply enough; just a pair of blue jeans, a green tank-top, and a dark blue jacket. His skin was relatively light and made for a good contrast with his dark brown hair. Even with her ship's advanced sensors Kiyone could not make out the color of his eyes, but the young man did seem to be looking up in the general direction of the _Yagami_.

 _Looks like I've been made_ , she thought, _It'll be interesting to see how he handles this. Time to make our first impression, Yagami!_

The cruiser continued to descend, and the ground was rapidly approaching. Soon that ground was replaced by water as Kiyone brought her ship in over the lake, a few moments later it was hovering just a few meters over the water.

"All right," she said with a smile as she put her ship into a stationary hover, "Landing successful! Time to go chat with the local boy."

Getting out of her seat, she stepped into the corridor just behind the cockpit. Taking a moment to flatten out a wrinkle in her uniform, she then typed on a keypad mounted on the wall. A red light blinked on the console, and then the hatch in front of her opened up and a long ramp descended, touching down gently on the shore of the lake.

Stepping out of the ship, she once again saw the young man she'd spotted on her monitor earlier. He was looking at her ship, and this time Kiyone could discern his eye color. It was blue, and it was actually a rather striking hue of it. Or perhaps it was simply the way he was looking at her and her ship; he was remarkably calm, and Kiyone could tell that he was intently focused on her.

 _He doesn't look all that phased about this_ , she thought as she started heading down the ramp, _I wonder why that is? He's kind of attractive, too… for a local way out in the sticks, anyway._

She gave her head a small shake. Now was not the time to be thinking like that, no matter how handsome the stranger appeared. That was how Mihoshi might think in a situation like this, and Kiyone did not feel like imitating her former partner right now.

She saw the young man move towards her as she reached the bottom of the ramp, and Kiyone was once again struck by how remarkably cool and focused he seemed. He didn't seem the least bit shaken up by the fact that a large cruiser had just landed in front of his house. There was something about the way he was looking at her that Kiyone actually found familiar; it was like he was evaluating her, trying to determine if she was friendly or hostile.

 _He might be a local_ , she thought, _but he's sure not playing the part of a scared civilian experiencing first contact. What's up with this guy?_

Figuring she might as well be the one to make the first move, she smiled and gave him a friendly wave. "Excuse me, sir? I'm assuming that this is your residence, is that right?"

The young man nodded. "Yes, it is. If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

Whatever else he might be, this stranger was apparently one to get right to the point. That was fine with Kiyone, although she still found it incredibly odd as to how level headed he seemed to be given the circumstance.

"Well," she said, "my name's Kiyone Makibi. This may sound a bit strange to someone with you, but I'm actually with an organization called the Galaxy Police."

"Where's your ID?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

Kiyone felt a bit nervous under his gaze; it was surprisingly intense. Just who exactly was she dealing with here? And he was already asking for her ID? No mention of the _cruiser_ that she'd just parked over the lake in front of his home?

 _Something's not right here_ , she thought, _I thought this planet was about as far away from the core systems as you could get. It's not even supposed to have experienced contact with beings from beyond its star system, but this guy doesn't look phased by any of this. What the hell's going on?_

Deciding to play along until she learned more, she pulled out her identification cylinder and tapped the end. A small arm extended at a ninety-degree angle, and a screen popped to life with her image, name, rank, and the Galaxy Police logo on it.

"Here," she said, "I'm a Detective First Class, and I'm out here on official Galaxy Police business."

The young man nodded. "I thought your ship design was familiar. It's bigger than the one that crashed by the capital, though."

Kiyone's eyes widened slightly. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry," said the young man as he held out his hand, "but your arrival's not entirely unexpected. My name's Heero Yuy. I'm part of a peacekeeping organization called Preventers. It's nice to meet you, Detective Makibi."

Kiyone shook his hand and made note of his rather strong grip. "You as well. I don't suppose that you've got some sort of identification to prove you're part of this Preventers group, do you?"

Heero nodded and reached into his coat pocket. Kiyone tensed for a moment, wondering if he would suddenly pull a gun on her, but she relaxed a second later when he passed her a card. It had his image on it, along with an insignia and some basic information. She knew nothing about this world, but his identification looked pretty legitimate as far as she could tell.

"Thank you," she said as she handed it back to him, "Do you have a rank or title I should use, Mister Yuy?"

"You can just call me Heero, Detective," he replied.

Kiyone smiled; she certainly didn't mind the informal approach. "In that case, feel free to call me Kiyone. Is this area part of your jurisdiction?"

"My jurisdiction is this planet, her moon, and all of her orbital colonies," said Heero, "but for the moment I am working out of this particular region."

 _That's a pretty wide area of responsibility for a planetary officer_ , she thought, _Why's someone like him assigned out in a place like this? Is it because of Mihoshi's beacon?_

"I see," she said, "You said that a ship similar to mine touched down near your capital. Where is that, exactly?"

"Several thousand kilometers to the west of here," he replied, "Almost half the world away, actually."

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Forgive me, but are you sure you've got that distance right?"

Heero nodded. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Well," said Kiyone, "the thing is, if that ship was similar to mine than it's a good chance that it belongs to another Galaxy Police officer. The reason I'm here is to find that officer; their portable distress beacon's signal was detected coming from this world. However, the signal's source is this region, not your capital."

"Yes, I know," said Heero, and Kiyone was struck by how casual he was about it, "The ship crashed in a lake, but the officer did not remain with her craft. She came with me when I left the capital, and she now resides out here. She brought her beacon with her, along with some additional belongings."

Kiyone felt her heart sink. "So… she _is_ still alive?"

Heero nodded and gestured behind him. "She's right over there."

Looking past him, Kiyone could indeed see her former partner. She was on the front porch, dressed in a pink tank-top and blue jeans…

…and she was out like a light.

Kiyone sighed. "I can't believe she slept through my ship landing like that. Typical…"

"So you're her partner, then?" said Heero.

Kiyone nodded. "Yes… I am. I take it she's mentioned me to you, then?"

"Yes," Heero replied, "although she never actually gave me your name."

"I see," said Kiyone, "Well… thank you for putting up with her this whole time. I'm sure she's been a handful for you."

"She has," said Heero, "but it's been no trouble. She's a very nice woman."

 _That's true_ , thought Kiyone, _I'll say this much for Mihoshi; she's kind to a fault._

Kiyone forced a smile. "She is. I appreciate you looking after her while she's been here. I'll be taking her off your hands now."

Heero shook his head. "Not quite yet."

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Why? She's not from your world, after all."

"No, she's not," said Heero, "However, she has been placed under my observation custody for the time being. I'll need to speak to my superiors before she can leave with you. I understand that your mission is to retrieve her, and I have no intention of standing in the way of that objective. That being said, I have my own mission, and in order for it to change I will have to get my commanding officers involved."

Kiyone nodded; his argument wasn't unreasonable, and she could sympathize with his situation. "I understand. How long will it take for you to contact them?"

"I actually spoke to one of them before you landed," he said, "Our orbital observation grid spotted your ship approaching the planet, and I was duly notified. My immediate superior will be arranging a flight out here; I have no doubt that she would like to speak to you personally. However, since she'll be flying out from the capital it will take some time for her to arrive here."

"Very well," said Kiyone, "In that case, I would like to at least speak to my partner and remain here until I can actually bring her back home."

Heero nodded. "That's fine. Although…"

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

He nodded back at Mihoshi. "When she's out like this, it can take a bit of work to wake her up."

Kiyone couldn't help but smile; it sounded like this guy was already familiar with at least one of Mihoshi's traits. "Trust me, I know exactly what you mean. Let me handle it. I've got experience with this."

 _More than I'd like to have_ , she added silently.

"All right," said Heero.

Kiyone let him lead the way. She kept her smile on her face, but on the inside her emotions did not match her expression. She was already visualizing what would happen to her career once she returned with Kiyone to HQ. The accidents would begin anew, she would be the subject of scorn and ridicule due to being unable to rein in her partner's eccentricities… her career was already back in its death spiral, and there was absolutely nothing that she could do to rescue it.

 _It's not too late_ , she thought, _If she slept through your arrival there's no reason to think your departure would wake her up. You can still run away. Just tell Headquarters that you couldn't find her! They wouldn't think twice about it!_

In the end, though, Kiyone knew that she couldn't do that. It would be going against orders from her superiors and defying her mission objectives, and as much as she didn't want to reunite with her partner Kiyone could never sabotage an officially sanctioned Galaxy Police operation.

That was what she told herself, anyway. She refused to admit to another reason.

Namely, that she might've actually _missed_ her airheaded partner.

A few seconds later Heero and her were standing over Mihoshi. Looking down at her partner, Kiyone could not help but feel a certain sense of nostalgia. How many times had she been in this position, having to wake up the snoozing blonde? She'd lost count quite a long time ago.

Kiyone sighed. "She really hasn't changed."

"She's been hoping that you would be the one to find her," said Heero, "Mihoshi speaks very highly of you."

Kiyone smiled. "I'm sure she does."

"She's missed you," Heero added.

Kiyone nodded. "I don't doubt that a bit."

"Well," said Heero, "I'll let you do the honors of waking her up."

 _I wouldn't exactly call it an honor_ , she thought, _but I guess that there's no putting it off any longer._

Kiyone took a deep breath before yelling words that she hadn't yelled in over a month. "Mihoshi! _Wake your ass up, on the double!_ "

That did the trick. Just like old times her partner shot to her feet…

…and promptly lost her balance and fell right on her butt.

"Ow!" whined the blonde woman, rubbing her back, "That hurt…"

She then looked up, and her eyes widened when she saw the source of the yelling. " _Kiyone! You found me!_ "

Before Kiyone could respond Mihoshi was back on her feet, and she wasted no time in throwing her arms around her. Kiyone forced herself to keep smiling, a rather difficult thing to do considering it felt as though her partner's grip might just crack her ribs.

"Oh, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi, and Kiyone could tell that her partner was trying and failing to hold back tears, "I missed you so much!"

"Yeah," said Kiyone, giving Mihoshi an awkward pat on the back, "I… I missed you too, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi sniffed. "You mean that?"

"Of course I do, silly!" Kiyone replied.

 _That's it_ , she thought, _my life is over._

Mihoshi's grip on her tightened considerably. "Oh, you're the best, Kiyone!"

 _Yeah_ , she thought dryly, _I'm a damn saint, aren't I?_

"Listen, Mihoshi," she said, feeling like her partner was about to crush her, "Can you… let me go? I'm having… a little trouble breathing!"

"Oh, sorry!" said Mihoshi, quickly releasing her, "I'm just so happy to see you!"

Kiyone nodded and smiled. "Same here. You look well, Mihoshi."

That she did. From where Kiyone was standing Mihoshi seemed to be no worse for the wear considering how long she'd been marooned on this planet. She glanced over at Heero; apparently he'd taken very good care of her.

 _I'll have to swap stories with him while I'm here_ , she mused, _It'll be interesting to see how he managed to put up with her without going insane._

"How did you find me?" asked Mihoshi.

"Your beacon, silly," Kiyone replied, "How else would Headquarters have known to send me out here?"

"Oh, right," said Mihoshi, "Well, I'm glad you're here. We've got so much to catch up on!"

Kiyone nodded, not particularly looking forward to that but not wanting to clue Mihoshi into what she was really thinking. "We'll have plenty of time for that; Heero's informed me that he can't let me take you back home quite yet."

Mihoshi looked puzzled and turned to Heero. "Really? Why not?"

"I just need Sally to come out here so she can talk to Kiyone," Heero replied calmly, "It's just like when she and Director Une came out here for when we found Washu."

Kiyone's eyes widened. There was _no way_ that she had heard that right.

"Uhm, pardon me, Heero?" she asked hesitantly, "Did… did you just say that you found someone named _Washu_ out here?"

Heero nodded. "Yes."

His casual answer was rather off-putting for Kiyone given what she had heard about the legendary and notorious mad scientist. Perhaps it was a mistake; maybe they had found another individual who just happened to share that woman's name. Of course, Kiyone knew that that was likely an exercise in wishful thinking, but the idea of Mihoshi having landed on the same planet as the infamous Washu was pretty hard to swallow.

Kiyone was still struggling to come up with a reply when she heard a new voice enter the conversation. "Sir Heero? Please pardon the interruption, but could you possibly explain to me what exactly is going on out here?"

The Detective First Class did not think that her eyes could get any wider, but that notion was quickly proven wrong when she found herself face to face with none other than the crown princess of the Empire of Jurai.

"No way," she said softly, "It can't be…"

Ayeka Masaki Jurai looked at her, her expression one of puzzlement. "Forgive me for any potential rudeness, but who are you, miss?"

"Oh, right," said Kiyone, bowing, "I'm Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi of the Galaxy Police, your Highness. Forgive me; I did not expect to run into someone of your stature on this planet."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. So, you must be here for Miss Mihoshi, then."

"Yes," Kiyone replied.

Ayeka smiled. "Wonderful! I think it's high time that our resident Detective found her way back to the Galaxy Police! Wouldn't you agree, Sasami?"

Kiyone's face paled; there was _another_ member of the Royal Family here? That _couldn't_ be right.

Sure enough, a second later another girl appeared, and it was indeed the younger sister of the crown princess. Like the older princess, Kiyone had only seen pictures and news clips of Sasami Masaki Jurai in the past; she'd never imagined that she would get the chance to meet the girl who was also known as the Gentle Fairy of the Royal Family.

The younger princess gave her a warm smile. "Hello, there! I'm Sasami. It's nice to meet you, Detective!"

Kiyone couldn't help but smile in return; how could she do anything else when face with the most adorable member of the Royal Family? It would almost be a _crime_ not to return her smile!

She bowed again. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, your Highness."

"Aw," said Sasami, "you don't need to call me that. Just call me Sasami!"

Kiyone nodded. "Very well, then… Sasami."

 _That's going to take some getting used to_ , she thought, _Headquarters is always so strict when it comes to potential interactions with members of the Royal Family…_

"Sasami is always so relaxed when it comes to formality," said a male voice.

"It's a very pleasant trait of hers," said another, this one with a slightly higher pitch.

Leaning in slightly, Kiyone quickly found their sources; two cylindrical beings that she recognized from file images as being the guardian entities of Princess Ayeka. She supposed that it was only natural that they would be on this planet with the woman that they were assigned to guard, although it still felt weird to see them here.

"Would you all pipe down?" said a new voice, this one female, "I'm trying to watch something here!"

Kiyone's eyes once again widened as she saw who had spoken. It was a relatively short woman with green eyes and red hair which was tied up in a pony tail but still quite wild.

Washu Hakubi.

 _I guess it was too much to hope that Heero was talking about another woman named Washu_ , she thought, _What the hell am I supposed to do about this?_

However, the appearance of the infamous mad scientist was not the last surprise that this place had in store for her. Sitting on the couch not too far from Washu was another woman, this one with wild turquoise hair and amber eyes. It was a face that was plastered on Wanted posters throughout the galaxy.

Ryoko.

Kiyone found herself stiffening. It was bad enough that Washu had apparently been freed from her stasis-pod prison, but now the notorious pirate _Ryoko_ was here as well? Her powers were the stuff of legends within the halls of Galaxy Police Headquarters, and while Kiyone was confident in her skills she knew that she would still be hard pressed to take on someone like her.

Kiyone tensed further as Ryoko looked over at her and scowled. "What the hell? Since when did we pick up another cop for a guest, Heero?"

"She just arrived," Heero replied, entirely too casual for Kiyone's liking, "Apparently she's here for Mihoshi."

Ryoko seemed to relax at that. "Oh, really? Well, it's about damn time someone came by to pick her up. Lazy bums."

"Typical Galaxy Police," said Washu as she turned her attention back to what appeared to be the large screen of an entertainment device, "A bunch of sluggish bureaucrats. I'm surprised it only took them a month to dispatch someone to search for Mihoshi."

Kiyone didn't know what to make of this. Here was one of the most wanted criminals in the galaxy sitting beside a universally feared scientist with a penchant for creating immensely destructive weapons out on some backwater planet. More so, they were right in front of her and casually bad-mouthing the Galaxy Police. Kiyone might've fumed with indignity were the circumstances not so damn weird.

"Oh!" cried Mihoshi as she grabbed Kiyone's arm and started dragging her inside, "We've still got some leftover rice rolls in the fridge from lunch. Come on inside, Kiyone; you must be hungry!"

"Well…" Kiyone began, not really sure how to react as her partner pulled her through the living room past one woman that she _should_ be arresting right now and another that she should _at least_ notify Headquarters about.

Before Kiyone knew what was happening she found herself sitting down on a mat in front of the table in the living room, with Mihoshi serving her a plate of rice balls. To top things off was Sasami, and Kiyone was struck by the very odd sight of a member of the Jurai Royal Family serving tea to her.

"Here you go!" said the younger princess with a smile as she handed a cup to her, "I hope you like it!"

Not know what else she could do in this situation, Kiyone raised the cup and took a sip. "Thank you."

Mihoshi sat right down on the floor next to Kiyone, and the big smile that she'd been wearing ever since laying eyes on her still hadn't left her face. "Oh, you're going to love it here, Kiyone!"

 _'Love it here?'_ , she thought incredulously, _Has she already forgotten that I'm here to bring her back to Headquarters? I know she's an airhead, but this is ridiculous!_

"If there's anything you need, just let me know," said Heero as he joined them and accepted a fresh cup of tea from Sasami, "Since I've been playing host to everyone here for a while I've kept this place well stocked."

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Wait, you've been hosting _everyone_ here? For how long?"

"Ryoko and Ayeka got here first," Heero replied as he took a sip from his cup, "That was about a month and a half ago. Mihoshi showed up a little less than a week later. Sasami arrived about a week after Mihoshi landed. Washu was the last; we found her stasis pod in a cave not too far from here seven days ago."

"And now _you're_ here, Kiyone!" said Mihoshi with a grin, "It's like a giant party where more guests keep arriving!"

"That's one way to put it," she heard Washu mutter.

"Some party," Ryoko quipped, "When we've got booze instead of tea _then_ I'll start celebrating."

"Things certainly are lively when it comes to us," said Ayeka, "We barely have any quiet days anymore."

"Well I like it!" said Sasami, "It's so much fun, isn't it, Ayeka?"

"Perhaps," Ayeka replied, "but we could do with some stability and predictability."

"It would be nice if we could have at least one full day go by without some incident or another," said the cylinder with the blue symbol, which if Kiyone recalled from the files correctly was called Azaka.

"Indeed," chimed in the one with the red symbol, which must've been Kamidake.

 _Just what have I gotten myself into?_ , thought Kiyone, _There's nothing in the rulebooks for dealing with a situation like this…_

She was about to take another sip of her tea when she felt something nudge her arm. Looking down, she saw what appeared to be a cross between a cat and a rabbit standing on the floor beside her.

"Meow!" cried the creature in what Kiyone assumed was a greeting.

"Uhm… hello," said Kiyone awkwardly.

The creature replied by hopping right into her lap and snuggling against her. Not sure what else to do, Kiyone cautiously reached down and started slowly petting the animal on the head. She seemed to have found a good spot because a few moments later she heard what sounded like purring coming from the creature.

Kiyone couldn't help but smile. "Well, you're a cute and friendly little furball, aren't you?"

"Aw," cooed Sasami, "She likes you, Kiyone!"

"Lucky!" cried Mihoshi.

"What's her name?" asked Kiyone as she continued to pet the rather adorable animal in her lap.

"Oh, that's Ryo-Ohki!" said Sasami with a big, innocent smile on her face.

Kiyone froze as she looked down at the cat-rabbit. _This_ was _the_ Ryo-Ohki? This cute little furball was actually the vessel belonging to one of the most wanted pirates in the galaxy? _This_ was the ship that had allowed Ryoko to steal the cargo from who knew how many transports and fight off countless Galaxy Police cruisers?

"You've got to be kidding me…" she said softly.

"What's wrong, Kiyone?" asked Mihoshi.

What was wrong? Everything about this whole situation was wrong. Here she was, a member of the Galaxy Police, sitting down with her partner having rice balls and tea while sharing the same room with a local peacekeeping officer, two members of the Royal Family and their guardians, a notorious mad scientist, a pirate that was wanted across the galaxy, and the creature that just so happened to also be said pirate's space ship.

Kiyone had told Heero that she would wait until his superiors had had a chance to speak to her before retrieving Mihoshi, but that had been before learning that he was also hosting both a known fugitive and a woman who would be back on the Wanted list once the Galaxy Police and the Empire of Jurai found out that she had escaped confinement. Her circumstances did not permit her to simply relax and enjoy Heero's hospitality; she was an officer of the Galaxy Police, and the rules and regulations of that organization demanded action.

Kiyone rose so quickly that Ryo-Ohki went tumbling from her lap onto the floor. "Argh, I can't believe you, Mihoshi!"

Mihoshi gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean, Kiyone?"

Kiyone's eyes widened in disbelief. "What do I mean? You've been sharing a residence with one of the most wanted pirates of all time, Mihoshi! Have you even _tried_ to arrest her?"

Mihoshi nodded. "I did, but… well, I wasn't able to. She defeated me. Heero and Ayeka helped."

Kiyone turned to Ayeka and Heero. "Is this true? Princess, did you actually fight against a member of the Galaxy Police?"

"Not knowingly," Ayeka replied quickly, "and I can assure you that Sir Heero did not know of Miss Mihoshi's true identity at the time of the fight either. She did not identify herself immediately upon her arrival, and Ryoko deceived us into thinking that she was a pirate!"

"Mihoshi _was_ in her power armor suit at the time," said Heero, "We really did have no idea who she was. By the time she'd identified herself we had already defeated her."

"And so that was it?" asked Kiyone as she turned back to her partner, "Just because they defeated you once doesn't mean that your duties as an officer of the Galaxy Police ended there. As soon as you got the chance you should've made another effort to capture Ryoko!"

"But I couldn't!" cried Mihoshi, "I crashed my ship, remember? What was I supposed to do?"

Kiyone knew that Mihoshi had a point there, but she still couldn't ignore the fact that her partner had done absolutely _nothing_ to deal with the menace that she had been living with since arriving on this planet.

"You still had Princess Ayeka of the Empire of Jurai and her bodyguards here with you," said Kiyone, "Between the three of them you should've found some way to restrain her and keep her contained until someone picked up your beacon and found you!"

"That was never going to happen," Heero cut in, "Ryoko, like Ayeka and the rest of my guests, is under my observational custody. It's my responsibility to look after her, and that includes preventing people from capturing her and hauling her off this planet regardless of her past actions."

Kiyone rounded on him. "You've got no idea who you're dealing with here! Do you have any idea how hard the Galaxy Police have been trying to capture her? There are some damn good reasons for that, too!"

"I'm well aware of that," Heero replied calmly, "Ryoko was kind enough to give me some of the relevant details."

Kiyone folded her arms. "You can't trust her, you know? She's a pirate and a wanted woman; she'd say and do _anything_ as long as it suited her ends!"

"Your point?" said Heero, and Kiyone was struck by the sudden edge in his tone.

She refused to let herself be intimidated. "My point is that if you're truly charged with keeping the peace on this planet then you should be doing everything in your power to lock away someone like Ryoko!"

"I'm keeping the peace by doing exactly what I've been doing since Ryoko and Ayeka arrived on Earth," Heero shot back, his voice now carrying an arctic chill, "Thanks to the actions of me and my organization we've come up with a solution that minimizes civilian exposure to them and the others without compromising our ideals. Ryoko may have a criminal record in the Empire of Jurai and in the jurisdiction of the Galaxy Police, but the Earth Sphere Unified Nation has no relations with either of those entities. Ryoko is on our world; she's ours to deal with as we see fit. More to the point, she is _my_ responsibility. My mission is to look after her along with the rest of my guests, and I will fulfill that objective in the manner that _I_ see fit. If you interfere in any way I _will_ make you regret it."

Kiyone instinctively let her hand hover over her pistol. "Are you saying that you'll intervene if I arrest Ryoko? That would make you an accessory to her actions, and I'd have full legal authority to arrest you along with her."

"If you so much as _touch_ him," said an icy female voice from behind her as a hand took her shoulder in a _very_ tight grip, "I will _rip you in half_."

Kiyone felt a chill go down her spine as she turned to face none other than Ryoko. She no longer had that relaxed and nonchalant look on her face from earlier. Her amber eyes had sharpened, and Kiyone had to fight to keep from recoiling at the sight of the sheer _venom_ that she saw in them.

Kiyone refused to let herself be cowed into submission by the likes of the pirate. "So you want to add another count of threatening a Galaxy Police officer to your rap sheet? Fine by me."

"Shut up," Ryoko growled as her eyes shot daggers at Kiyone, "Let's take this outside."

"Ryoko," said Heero as he stood up, "What are you doing?"

"Taking care of business," Ryoko replied, "If she wants to pick a fight here she'll have it with me. Stay out of this one, all right?"

"No promises," said Heero.

"Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi as she grabbed her shoulder, "What are you doing?"

"My job!" Kiyone shot back, "The same job that _you_ should've done when you arrived here. Now, go grab your gear! You didn't lose it, did you?"

Mihoshi shook her head. "No, I have it here, but…"

"Then go get it!" Kiyone snapped, a little harder than she'd meant to, "Your vacation ends now, Mihoshi. You're back on the clock, and we've got a fugitive to apprehend!"

Mihoshi turned to her host. "Heero…"

Kiyone was surprised to see Heero shake his head. "It's all right, Mihoshi. Do as she says. She is your partner, after all."

Mihoshi nodded and turned to head upstairs, but not before looking back at Heero again. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Heero, "We'll get things worked out."

"Sir Heero?" said Ayeka nervously, "Could you perhaps elaborate on that?"

"Not really," Heero replied, entirely too casually considering how serious the situation had become, "I'm playing this by ear."

 _How the hell is this guy so damn calm?_ , she thought, _If he thinks I'm anywhere near as easy to beat in a fight as Mihoshi then he's got another thing coming!_

Ayeka nodded. "I… I see. Well, I suppose I should join you all outside. Azaka, Kamidake; come!"

"At once, your Highness," Azaka replied.

"As you command, Princess Ayeka," said Kamidake.

"Ayeka…" said Sasami, looking quite worried, "What's going to happen?"

"A struggle of some sorts, no doubt," said Ayeka, "Sasami, I want you to stay in here where it will be safe, all right?"

Sasami nodded. "Okay."

"Hey, Sasami?" said Ryoko, "Hang on to Ryo-Ohki, okay? I don't want her getting caught up in the middle of this."

Sasami smiled as she scooped the cat-rabbit up into her arms. "I'll keep her safe, Ryoko!"

"Thanks" said Ryoko before turning to the resident mad scientist, "Yo, Washu? Are you coming outside with us or what?"

Washu shook her head, still sitting on the couch and watching whatever was on the giant screen. "Nah. You kids go have fun."

Kiyone's eyes widened. " _Fun_? Once I've apprehended her you're next, Washu! Don't think that the Galaxy Police has forgotten _your_ list of crimes!"

Washu shrugged. "As hidebound and anal retentive as they are, I'm sure they haven't. Enjoy your scrap with my daughter, Detective. I'll be right here when you're ready to get your ass handed to you."

Kiyone was fuming now. The fact that she was being casually dismissed by such a notorious mad scientist really got under her skin, and it was tempting to just slap her cuffs on Wash right now. However, Kiyone knew that she had to keep a cool head. The best way for her to emerge from this situation victorious was to focus on one objective at a time. Her first priority was to deal with Ryoko; Washu would be Round Two.

"Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi as she ran down the stairs, tucking in her uniform as she did so, "I'm ready!"

Kiyone nodded. "Good. You're backing me up, so look sharp!"

"Got it," said Mihoshi, lacking enthusiasm.

Her partner then looked at Ryoko. "I'm really sorry about this, Ryoko."

Ryoko shrugged. "I'll go easy on you, Mihoshi; I know Heero wouldn't like it if I beat you to a pulp. Your partner's going to get a real thrashing, though, so you're going to have to deal with that."

"Aw, don't hurt Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi.

"Get a hold of yourself, Mihoshi!" snapped Kiyone, "Since when do Galaxy Police officers ask pirates for mercy?"

"But Ryoko's my friend, Kiyone," said Mihoshi, "I don't want you to hurt her and I don't want her to hurt you!"

Kiyone wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. "Mihoshi, we're cops! She's an outlaw! What do you think we're supposed to do in a situation like this?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Mihoshi," said Ayeka as they went outside, "but I'm afraid I must side with your partner here. You may have been outmatched before, but now that she is here you must perform your duty and apprehend Ryoko."

Ryoko glared at Ayeka. "Hey! Who's side are you on, you royal brat?"

Ayeka gave her an evil grin. "Certainly not yours, you loathsome cur! Were you truly foolish enough to think otherwise?"

"I swear," Ryoko growled, "if you interfere I'll set your hair on fire!"

"Oh, I'm _terribly_ frightened!" said Ayeka, not sounding the least bit scared as she turned to Kiyone, "Detective, did you hear her just now? I do believe that directly threatening a member of the Jurai Royal Family is a punishable offense, is it not?"

Kiyone nodded. "It is, and I'll be adding it to Ryoko's rap sheet."

Ayeka smiled. "Oh, how wonderful! If only you had arrived here sooner, Detective. Your dedication to the law and your bravery will not go unrewarded today, I assure you. I'll make sure that my father hears of the gallantry that you'll doubtlessly display when you apprehend the foul woman who threatened his daughter!"

"Like hell you will!" snarled Ryoko.

"Please, your Highness," said Kiyone, "Let's save that kind of talk until after I've succeeded in subduing her. I doubt she'll go down easy, after all."

Ayeka nodded. "Of course, Detective. Know that I am in full support of your efforts today. Azaka, Kamidake!"

"Your Highness!" the two guardians said as one.

"Stand at the ready," she ordered, "Be prepared for anything!"

"As you command," they both replied.

Ryoko scowled at the two guardians. "If you two butt into this fight then I'm turning you into firewood, you got that?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Ryoko," said Azaka, "We would rather not fight you, but if Princess Ayeka orders us to then we will have no choice."

"Hopefully it will not come to that," said Kamidake.

Ryoko shot another glare at Ayeka. "We'll see."

Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Ryoko put some space between themselves and the others. While Heero, Ayeka, Azaka and Kamidake stood off to the side Ryoko took up position off to the right, with Kiyone and Mihoshi facing off against her from the opposite side.

Kiyone pointed at the pirate. "All right, Ryoko, this will be your first and last chance to end this peacefully. Surrender now and come quietly, otherwise we'll have no choice but to take you down by force!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Take your best shot, lady. There's no way in hell that I'm surrendering to the likes of you and Mihoshi."

"Fine," said Kiyone, "In that case, we're not holding back. Mihoshi, get ready!"

Mihoshi nodded. "Right!"

Kiyone reached into her pocket and withdrew a small red sphere. She tapped the top of it before throwing it into the air. The sphere suddenly glowed red, and a hissing noise came from _Yagami_ as the vessel's top hatch opened. A much larger red sphere flew out of the ship's upper hull and made a beeline for Kiyone and Mihoshi.

Ryoko's eyes narrowed as the ball of red light approached. "What's this?"

"Something to help even the odds," Kiyone replied.

The red sphere touched down behind Kiyone, and the light faded to reveal a Galaxy Police mechanized armor suit with a crimson paintjob.

"Mihoshi!" barked Kiyone, "That's the same type of suit as the one that you had on your ship, so you should be able to use it. Get in there and back me up!"

"Got it, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi.

Much to Kiyone's relief, Mihoshi got into the powered armor without incident. The suit quickly closed up around her, and the green sensor eye glowed to life.

"Okay," came Mihoshi's voice over the armor's speakers, "I'm ready!"

"So she can talk to outsiders in that thing," Kiyone heard Heero say from the sidelines, "It would've been nice if she'd used that feature back when we first met."

"I wholeheartedly concur, Sir Heero," said Ayeka.

"So your partner's got armor now," said Ryoko, folding her arms, "That's not going to stop me from kicking both of your asses."

"We'll see about that," said Kiyone as she drew her pistol, "Mihoshi, let's go!"

"Right behind you, Kiyone!" her partner replied.

 _Just like old times_ , she thought, although whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was open for debate, _except that we never faced anyone as powerful as Ryoko. I hope Mihoshi's up for this._

Taking aim, Kiyone fired off a volley with her pistol. Yellow bolts of energy flew through the air, but Ryoko didn't even try to dodge them. She simply stood where she was, and the air around her shimmered as an energy barrier surrounded her and deflected Kiyone's shots.

Ryoko smirked. "Is that all you got, Detective? I could block those shots for the next thousand years!"

"I figured that wouldn't work," said Kiyone, "I just wanted to test your defenses. Mihoshi, attack!"

"Got it!" yelled Mihoshi.

The crimson power armor surged forward, firing from its wrist-mounted energy blasters as it went, and Kiyone added her own fire to the mix. Once again Ryoko's barrier deflected the shots, but Kiyone had the satisfaction of seeing the pirate's eyes widen as she realized that the shots were really just meant to keep her in place as Mihoshi charged her, trying to tackle her with her armor.

"Crap!" Ryoko hissed as she dived to the side at the last moment.

She was able to evade Mihoshi's charge, but Kiyone had planned for that. Grabbing a disk-like device from her belt, she clicked a button on the top of it and chucked it at the pirate. As the device flew through the air three yellow energy cords sprung from it, and when it hit Ryoko the cords wrapped around her and bound her tight.

Kiyone smiled. "Gotcha!"

"Good job, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi.

Kiyone's smile disappeared as she saw Ryoko smirk. "Oh, please? You think _this_ is gonna keep me down?"

Sparks of crimson energy crackled and coursed over the pirate's body. They flowed over the yellow energy cords and into the disk device that they were originating from. There was a flash and a small burst of flame that came from the device, followed shortly by a tiny plume of smoke as the yellow cords disappeared; Ryoko had burned out the restraint.

"Now," she said with a smile, "my turn."

She held out both her hands and unleashed a barrage of crimson energy blasts at Kiyone and Mihoshi. The two Galaxy Police officers were forced onto the defensive and dodged left and right to avoid getting hit. Kiyone returned fire when she was able to with her pistol, but Ryoko swatted the yellow bolts aside with contemptuous ease.

Kiyone turned to her partner. "Mihoshi, get airborne and hit her from above!"

"Okay!" chirped Mihoshi.

Her partner took to the sky in her crimson power armor, but Ryoko soon joined her. The pirate launched another barrage of red energy balls at Mihoshi, and she returned fire with her armor's blasters. Kiyone added her fire to the mix from down on the ground, and while it made for an impressive light show it didn't exactly bring them any closer to apprehending their target.

 _Damn it_ , she thought, _She already shorted out my first Entangler so there's no point in me throwing another one at her. Our guns don't really have an effect on her either. How the hell are we supposed to take her down?_

Ryoko laughed as she weaved in and out of Kiyone and Mihoshi's fire. "Come on, is this all that two officers of the Galaxy Police can do? From the way you were talking earlier I thought that you'd be able to put up more of a fight, Detective!"

"Mihoshi!" yelled Kiyone, "Forget trying to shoot her, it won't work! Try to grab her with your armor! I'll back you up!"

"Right!" Mihoshi replied.

Taking aim, Kiyone sent a stream of yellow bolts at Ryoko. Ryoko dodged or blocked them as required, once again showing very little effort in doing so, but the shots weren't meant to truly threaten her. Kiyone's intent was simply to keep the pirate busy while Mihoshi charged in to tackle her.

It seemed to be working; Mihoshi was rushing in and Ryoko still appeared to be preoccupied with Kiyone's covering fire. However, at the last moment Ryoko dived, causing Mihoshi to fly harmlessly over her.

"Nice try, Mihoshi!" said Ryoko as she fired a crimson blast into the back of the power armor, "Maybe you could hit me if I were sleeping!"

"Don't let her get to you, Mihoshi!" Kiyone yelled, "Charge her again! I'll cover you!"

"Okay, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi.

Once again Kiyone laid down covering fire for Mihoshi. She did her best to keep Ryoko off balance, but there was really only so much variety Kiyone could put into her shots; patterns were bound to immerge sooner or later, and she was sure that Ryoko would pick up on them. However, her blaster wasn't the only weapon Kiyone could use to keep Ryoko busy.

"Mihoshi!" Kiyone shouted as she grabbed a spherical device from her belt, "Switch over to thermal imaging!"

"Why?" her partner asked.

"Just do it!" Kiyone ordered as she clicked a button on top of the device, priming the weapon.

Waiting a couple seconds to make sure she timed the throw right, she then chucked the sphere into the air. It was right in front of Ryoko when it detonated, releasing a cloud smoke that quickly engulfed the pirate.

"Now's your chance, Mihoshi!" yelled Kiyone, "Get her!"

"Okay," said Mihoshi, "Here I go!"

She charged straight into the cloud left by the smoke grenade. Kiyone smiled; since Mihoshi was using the armor's thermal imagers she'd be able to see while Ryoko would be flying blind. This time there was no way that Ryoko would be able to dodge her.

Kiyone's smile rapidly faded as she saw Ryoko shoot out of the top of the smoke cloud. The pirate folded her arms and smirked as she looked down at Kiyone, while Mihoshi still hadn't emerged from the cloud.

"That wasn't too bad," she said, "but come on, Detective! You're really underestimating me if you think that I don't know how to fly straight up to get out of a smoke screen."

"Damn it," she growled, "Mihoshi, get out of there!"

"Where did she go?" she heard Mihoshi cry from somewhere in the smoke cloud, "Kiyone, I don't think the thermal imager's working! I can't find her in here!"

"That's because she's not in there anymore!" Kiyone snapped, "She's right above you!"

"Oh!" said Mihoshi, "Don't worry Kiyone, I'll get her!"

 _I'm not betting money on it_ , she thought dryly as she watched her partner fly out of the smoke cloud, _I don't know what else we can do here. Nothing's working._

"Back me up, Kiyone!" yelled Mihoshi as she charged at Ryoko again.

Kiyone duly raised her pistol and opened fire, although she doubted that it would do much good. It was nice to her partner acting more enthusiastic about their mission now, but that didn't change the fact that Ryoko had shrugged off everything that they had thrown at her so far. Kiyone wasn't a walking arsenal; there were only so many gadgets and weapons that she could carry at one time, and it was hard to figure out how to use the ones she had left to subdue Ryoko.

The pirate danced through the air, evading and deflecting Kiyone's pistol shots like it was the easiest thing in the world. Even Mihoshi charging at her in her power armor didn't give her cause for concern; Ryoko would just evade her, and at times it looked like she was deliberately waiting until the last moment before dodging as a way of taunting Kiyone's partner.

It was as she fired another volley at Ryoko that she heard Ayeka sigh from the sidelines. "I suppose I have no choice now. Those two will never subdue her at this rate."

"What are you planning, Ayeka?" asked Heero.

"Forgive me, Sir Heero," Ayeka replied, "but I cannot stand idly by and miss this golden opportunity to defeat the scourge that is Ryoko. Azaka! Kamidake! Attack!"

"At once, your Highness," the two guardians replied as one.

The two cylinders took flight with surprising speed. Before Kiyone knew what was happening they had already ascended to the same height as Mihoshi and Ryoko. The space pirate was preoccupied with dodging yellow blaster bolts from Mihoshi's armor and Kiyone's pistol, which actually put Azaka and Kamidake in an ideal position for a flanking attack.

 _What are they going to do?_ , she thought, _I don't see any obvious weapons on them…_

Kiyone got her answer a moment later. While Ryoko was busy deflecting fire from Mihoshi's armor Azaka and Kamidake managed to bracket her, with the blue guardian on her left and the red one to her right. Blue and white sparks flew through the air between them, and Ryoko soon found herself caught inside an energy field.

"Hey!" she yelled as she looked back and forth between the two guardians, "What the hell are you two doing? Stay out of this! I was winning, damn it!"

"I'm terribly sorry, Ryoko," said Azaka, "but we have our orders."

"We cannot disobey a command from Princess Ayeka," said Kamidake, "Please forgive us!"

"Forgive you? Like hell I'm gonna do that!" growled Ryoko as she glared down at their master, "Ayeka, you backstabbing bitch! When I get out of here I'm gonna give you a new asshole on your forehead, you got that?"

Ayeka laughed. "Oh, by all means, do try to escape, Ryoko! I'll be waiting right here… _if_ you can break out of there!"

Ryoko grinned. "You asked for it. Eat this, you oversized paperweights!"

Holding out her arms, she fired blasts of crimson energy at both guardians. However, her attacks failed to breach the barrier. In fact, the sphere of energy that she was caught in actually deflected her attacks _back at her_ , and Kiyone had the satisfaction of hearing the pirate cry out in pain as she was hit by her own fire. Burn marks appeared on her tunic and skin, and wisps of smoke were coming from her hair.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" she yelled, "Damn it, that hurts!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Ayeka, looking anything but apologetic, "Did I forget to mention that, as Royal Guardians, Azaka and Kamidake can generate barriers of incredible power? I'm afraid you'll need to try much harder than that to break out of there, Ryoko!"

Ryoko snarled. "Ayeka… I swear, you are going to _pay_ for this!"

"And yet another count of threatening royalty added to your rap sheet!" said Ayeka with a grin, "I'm sure the good Detective's taken note of that!"

Kiyone had indeed made a mental note to add another count of that to the list of charges against Ryoko, but that was really a minor issue at this point. What really mattered was that Azaka and Kamidake appeared to have Ryoko completely contained. Now all Kiyone had to do was figure out a way to keep Ryoko restrained whenever the guardians had to deactivate their force field.

 _It wasn't easy_ , she thought with a smile, _and I wasn't planning on getting help from the princess, but I'm not complaining. When I return to Headquarters with Ryoko in Yagami's cell the top brass will be tripping over their desks to promote me! My career's saved!_

She could see it now. The commendations, the ceremony, the praise, her jealous former classmates, her pay raise… it was so beautiful that it nearly brought Kiyone to tears.

And it was all shattered by two gunshots.

Kiyone's eyes widened as Azaka and Kamidake fell out of the sky and crashed to the ground. Sparks and small wisps of smoke were coming from the bottoms of the two cylinders; their lift units had been knocked out. Glancing back up, Kiyone saw the remnants of the guardians' force field flicker and die; Ryoko was free again. Turning towards the sidelines, Kiyone saw who had fired those two shots.

Heero Yuy.

Ayeka's face was pale with shock as she looked back and forth between her guardians and Heero. "I… I don't understand! Why, Sir Heero?"

"As I told Kiyone," he said calmly as he lowered his firearm, "my mission is to look after you, Ryoko, and the others. I'll do what I must to meet that objective."

"Sir Heero," said Azaka, "How did you take us out so easily?"

"We're Royal Guardians!" bemoaned Kamidake, "It should've taken something much more powerful than your weapon to defeat us!"

"Your barrier was powerful," said Heero matter-of-factly, "but it only surrounded Ryoko. The two of you were wide open, and I've had enough time to study you to learn where your weak points are. Don't worry; I'll ask Washu to fix you up when this is over."

Kiyone was still having trouble processing everything. Royal Guardians like Azaka and Kamidake were supposed to be defensive juggernauts in a fight, or at least that's what she and every other aspiring Galaxy Police officer was taught at the academy. For two of them to be taken out by a primitive projectile weapon defied all comprehension and conventional wisdom, but there was no denying what she had just witnessed.

 _Who the hell_ is _this guy?_ , she thought as she looked at Heero, _No way he's just a common peacekeeper. Not with marksmanship like that…_

Up above, Ryoko folded her arms. "Look, Heero, I appreciate the assist, but I told you to let me handle this one!"

Heero nodded, and Kiyone could not help but marvel at just how cool and collected he was given everything that had happened so far. "I know, but I never said that I would stay out of it, remember? I did say 'no promises', after all."

Ryoko smiled. "Well, I guess you got me there. Thanks for the help, but I can handle these two from here."

"So can I," said Heero, "In fact, why don't you tag out, Ryoko?"

Ryoko's eyes widened, and she wasn't the only one to be taken aback by that statement; Kiyone couldn't believe what she had just heard. From the looks of things, the same went for everyone else.

"What did you say?" asked Ryoko.

"You heard me," Heero replied, "Sit the rest of this one out; I'll wrap things up."

"Heero," said Ryoko, "I know that you've got some moves, but get serious here; these two outnumber and outgun you. At least with my powers I can take them."

"I know you can," said Heero, "but I'd rather handle this myself. I can bring this to a decent end and then we can work out our issues in a more diplomatic manner. Stand down, Ryoko. This'll be over soon."

"Heero!" cried Mihoshi, "What are you doing? I don't want to fight you!"

"You're challenging two members of the Galaxy Police to a fight," said Kiyone, her eyes narrowing as she met Heero's gaze and raised her pistol, "You cannot win. I don't care if you're a good shot; we outmatch you in technology."

"Sir Heero, please reconsider this!" said Ayeka frantically, "Let Ryoko fight them; I will refrain from further interference, you have my word! Please, do not act so rashly!"

Heero shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ayeka, but this is the only way to bring things to a conclusion at this point that doesn't involve a body count."

"Heero," said Ryoko, "you don't have to do this!"

"It's all right," he said, and Kiyone was stunned to see him give the pirate a small smile, "Go sit down and take a break, Ryoko. It'll only take a few minutes for me to wrap this up."

Ryoko sighed. "I really can't talk you out of this, can I?"

Heero shook his head. "Sorry."

Ryoko smirked. "You can be pretty stubborn sometimes, Heero. All right, I'll sit the rest of this one out, but you'd better be able to back up all this tough talk of yours!"

Heero chuckled. "I'll try not to disappoint."

Kiyone watched as Ryoko descended and headed towards the sidelines. She quickly realized that her attention was on the wrong target; while she was looking at the pirate, Heero swiftly raised his pistol and fired in one fluid motion. Kiyone felt her hand jerk, but she hadn't actually been hit. Rather, her pistol had been shot out of her hand. Before it even hit the ground a second shot rang out, and Kiyone was absolutely stunned to see the trigger of her pistol get shot out.

She turned back to Heero and watched as he coolly holstered his pistol. "That should even things up a bit. I hope you're good at hand-to-hand combat, Detective."

Kiyone raised her fists into a guard position. "I am, but it's not just me that you're fighting here, remember? Mihoshi! Get him!"

"But I can't shoot him!" cried Mihoshi, "He's not like Ryoko! If I hit him he'll die!"

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "You don't need to shoot him! You just need to grab him with your armor!"

"Oh," said Mihoshi, "Well, I guess that will work. Sorry, Heero, but I have no choice!"

Heero nodded. "It's okay, Mihoshi. Make your partner proud."

"Buddy," said Kiyone, "you are way too calm about this, you know that? I think you've got a few screws loose in that head of yours."

Heero shrugged. "You wouldn't be the first to think that."

"I'm sure," said Kiyone as she rushed forward, "Let's see what you got!"

She threw a hard right punch as soon as she was in range, but her attack found nothing but air. Heero had simply rolled to the side and was already back on his feet, his fists raised but not moving to counter.

If he wasn't going to strike back then Kiyone had no qualms about continuing her offensive. She feinted with a left hook before making a high kick with her left leg. Once again Heero evaded, this time moving back to get out of her range.

"What's wrong?" said Kiyone as she advanced, "I thought you were going to settle this. What happened to all that tough talk of yours from before?"

Heero didn't answer. Instead he continued to duke and roll as needed to avoid her punches and kicks. Kiyone didn't know why he was being so passive after strolling into the fight with such confidence, but it didn't matter. Heero might be evading her attacks, but Kiyone wasn't the only one that he needed to worry about.

She spared a quickly glance in the air and found her partner diving down, maneuvering to put herself behind Heero. Kiyone had to fight to keep from smiling and ruining the setup. This was perfect; she'd stay in Heero's face and keep him occupied while Mihoshi grabbed Heero from behind and subdued him. The local would be defeated and embarrassed and Kiyone and Mihoshi could return to the task at hand of apprehending Ryoko.

 _Steady_ , she thought as she punched and kicked at Heero while he continued to duck and occasionally block her blows with his arms, _Just keep his attention on you for a few more seconds…_

Now Mihoshi was at ground level, and Kiyone stepped up her assault. Her strikes intensified as she sought to drive Heero right into the arms of her armored partner. The young man fell back exactly as Kiyone had expected, and Mihoshi moved in for the tackle.

At the last possible moment Kiyone rolled to the side, leaving Heero alone against a charging Mihoshi. She was confident that there was no way he'd be able to dodge her partner at this range.

Then her eyes widened in shock as she saw what happened next.

Apparently dodging hadn't been on Heero's mind, or at least not quite. In a single motion so fast and graceful that Kiyone struggled to track it, the young man grabbed the right arm of Mihoshi's armor. Before Mihoshi could grab him Heero used her arm as leverage and swung himself up onto the back of her armor. He quickly reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife, and then he drove the blade right into the back of the crimson armor's neck.

The armor fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Sparks flew from the back of the neck, and while the unit's limbs jerked it clearly wasn't getting up again anytime soon. Heero smoothly slid off the back of the crimson power suit and put his knife away before turning to face a stunned Kiyone.

"I can't move!" cried Mihoshi, "Heero, what did you do?"

"Same thing I did the first time we met," he replied, "Stay down there until this is over, Mihoshi. I don't want to hurt you."

"Okay," said Mihoshi, "Sorry, Kiyone!"

Kiyone shook her head, still unable to believe what she was seeing. "How did you do that? That shouldn't have been possible!"

"You made a mistake earlier when you told Mihoshi that that armor was the same kind as what she had on her ship," said Heero, "After we defeated her we took her armor for study. I know all of its weak points, and the wire bundle in the back of the neck is a big one."

"Woohoo!" shouted Ryoko, "Nice one, Heero!"

"Oh, my…" said Ayeka, "That was quite impressive…"

"That was very well done!" said Azaka.

"With that display of skill, I now don't feel quite as ashamed of our own defeat," chirped Kamidake.

"Fine," said Kiyone, "maybe you do have some moves. You've still got me to deal with, pal. Don't think that I plan on going easy on you."

"We don't have to do this," said Heero, "You can stand down at any time, Kiyone."

"That's not going to happen," she replied firmly, "I'm an officer of the Galaxy Police, and I _will_ do my duty! Ryoko's a criminal who has to be arrested, and if I have to go through you to do that then so be it."

"Your dedication is admirable," Heero replied, "but surely you can show some discretion."

"Beat me," said Kiyone, "and then we'll talk about discretion."

Heero nodded. "So be it."

Kiyone rushed forward, determined to end this fight quickly. She made a hard right swing, but Heero was able to block it on his arm. This time her foe actually decided to counter with a left hook, and while Kiyone was able to block it she was surprised at the power behind his hit. She didn't let that stop her, though; she immediately brought her leg up to try and kick him in the head. Her opponent ducked beneath it and threw another punch, and it was only by twisting her body at the last moment to bleed some of the force off of his blow that Kiyone wasn't taken down then and there.

She went into a back handspring to put a bit of distance between her and Heero. Landing on her feet, she rubbed her right side. Maybe his blow hadn't landed with full force, but it was still nothing to sneeze at.

"That was very good," said Heero, "You definitely have talent."

Kiyone wasn't in the mood for compliments from an enemy. "I've got more than that. I'm not gonna let you beat me!"

Now was as good a time as any to start fighting dirty. Reaching for her utility belt, Kiyone grabbed her second Entangler device and threw it at Heero. The three yellow cords sprang to life as the capture device whirled through the air, but in a single swift and seamless motion Heero drew his pistol and shot the weapon right out of the air.

"Save the gadgets," he said as he holstered his weapon, "They won't do you any good."

"We'll see about that!" said Kiyone as she reached for her belt again.

Grabbing a smoke grenade, she chucked it at Heero. As the weapon went off Kiyone grabbed a small grey half-disk shaped device from her belt and clipped it to her right ear. A tiny curved rod extended out of the device until it hovered over her right eye, and from that rod a small holographic display appeared.

"Thermal," she said, and the screen went over to heat vision.

She could clearly see Heero amid the smoke now, and she wasted no time in rushing at him. He would be fighting blind now, which meant that this was the best chance she had to take him down. She was a bit puzzled that he wasn't moving, but that just meant that he would be easier to subdue.

She entered the cloud and moved to tackle him…

…only for him to turn and face her at the last moment and punch her in the gut.

 _Hard_.

Kiyone doubled over as the wind flew from her body. It was all she could do to grab onto Heero's shoulder and keep herself upright, but her grip was tenuous… and fading fast. She felt incredibly light headed, and darkness was beginning to encroach on her vision.

With what little strength she had left, she looked up at the man who had so decisively beaten her and said one word. " _How?_ "

"If you're going to attack through a smoke screen," he replied, "make sure that your opponent can't hear you coming."

That was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness.

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Kiyone: Ow… damn it, that hurt, Heero!_

 _Heero: Sorry, but it was the only way to end that fight without a serious injury._

 _Mihoshi: Kiyone! You're finally awake!_

 _Ryoko: Oh, great. Is she going to start another fight?_

 _Ayeka: As much as I would like for her to apprehend you and haul you off to prison, I believe another engagement would be counterproductive._

 _Washu: There's not much of a point; she can't win._

 _Kiyone: I wish I didn't agree with you. Looks like it won't matter one way or the other; we just got new orders from HQ._

 _Mihoshi: Yay! They're making us resident officers of the Sol System! That means we can stay here!_

 _Sasami: That's wonderful, Mihoshi! Welcome to our family, Kiyone!_

 _Kiyone: My career… it's over._

 _Heero: If it's any consolation, you did fight well._

 _Kiyone: Thanks. You're not too bad yourself, Heero. Well, guess I'll make myself comfortable. Sounds like I'm gonna be out here for a while._

 _Washu: Detective, stay out of my lab. That will be your only warning._

 _Ryoko: And don't try to arrest me again, you got that?_

 _Kiyone: I think you've got bigger threats to worry about than me, Ryoko._

 _Ayeka: Oh my goodness, a bounty hunter? We truly are a magnet for odd characters, aren't we?_

 _Ryoko: Damn it. Why did it have to be_ _ **her**_ _?_

 _Washu: Next time, in Chapter Eight: No Need For A Rival!_

 _Nagi: So this is where you've been hiding out, eh, Ryoko? And you found a man, too? I might just have to take him along with your bounty!_

 _Heero: Remind me how I got stuck in the middle of this again?_

 **Author's Notes** : Ah, feels good to have another chapter posted! While the next one introduces the lovely bounty hunter Nagi from Tenchi Universe, she won't become a member of the harem; Kiyone was the last character I'm adding to it. That being said, it won't be Nagi's only appearance in this fic, either. She'll pop back up again, and things will get _very_ interesting when she does! That's quite a long ways off, though, so once her intro chapter's complete you'll just have to settle for some chapters devoted to hijinks, romance, and some character development until she takes the stage again.

Until next time! Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes** : Ah, nice to have another chapter posted! I managed to cut down on the length a little bit for this one, but I can't make any promises about the chapters to come.

Enjoy!

 **Chapter Eight: No Need For A Rival!**

Swimming in the blackness of her own mind, Kiyone slowly began to fight her way back to consciousness. She could vaguely make out voices in the background, and as light gradually came onto the scene she was aware of crude shapes and colors that she assumed were people, but her vision was taking its sweet time in returning to her.

"Ugh…" she groaned, "Where… am I?"

"Hey!" said a very familiar female voice, "She's coming around!"

Kiyone didn't need her vision to be perfect to know that the brown and blonde blur hovering at the edge of her sight was Mihoshi. Her sight became clearer by the second, but even without it she would've recognized that voice anywhere.

 _So_ , she mused as images of the fight from before flashed through her mind, _it wasn't a dream, then. Wishful thinking, I suppose. Well, guess it's time to face the music._

As her vision cleared up she found herself lying down on the couch in the main living room of the house. Mihoshi was right beside her, along with the others from before. Sasami was the closest, while the rest seemed to be maintaining their distance.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Not long," said Heero as he stepped forward, "Only about a half an hour."

"Should I be thanking you for that?" Kiyone asked dryly, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the man who'd put her in this condition.

Heero shrugged. "Depends on how you look at it. If I'd wanted to, I could've made sure that you'd be out of commission for much longer."

Kiyone chuckled as she rubbed her gut. "So you're saying that, as hard as you hit me, you were still pulling your punches?"

"Yes," he replied bluntly.

Kiyone shook her head and sighed. "Beaten by a local. Man, I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"You did put up a good fight," said Heero, "Mihoshi wasn't wrong when she told me that you were skilled."

"Kiyone," said Mihoshi, "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but… "

"Forget about it," said Kiyone as she sat up, "No point in worrying about it now."

"Hey," said Ryoko, folding her arms and glaring at her, "You'd better think hard about your next move before you get up from that couch. Heero might've felt like going easy on you, but if you pick another fight then I'm not going to hold back."

"Ryoko, stop it!" cried Sasami, "Can't you see that she's still not feeling well?"

"She got punched," Ryoko quipped, "She's not sick."

"She still shouldn't be put under any stress, Ryoko," said Sasami firmly.

"Yeah," said Mihoshi as she smiled at her partner, "Kiyone needs to be able to rest and relax right now."

Off to the side she saw Washu smirk and shake her head. "I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon."

Not too far away, Ayeka sighed. "After what happened earlier I am forced to concur. Sir Heero may have ended the engagement, but I'm afraid that the underlying issues of the conflict remain unresolved."

Ryoko folded her arms. "If that's your fancy way of saying that you'll help her try to arrest me again then we're going to have a problem, Ayeka."

"That's not going to happen," said Heero, "Is that clear, Ayeka?"

Ayeka nodded. "Quite so, Sir Heero. Besides, with Azaka and Kamidake currently down, we have no way to contain Ryoko."

"So the only reason you're playing nice is because your bodyguards are done?" said Ryoko, "Great. I hope Washu never fixes them."

"How could you say that, Ryoko?" asked Azaka

"Our actions against you were nothing personal," said Kamidake, "We were only acting under Princess Ayeka's orders!"

Looking around for the two guardians, Kiyone found them lying on their sides; someone had apparently dragged them into the living room and left them rather unceremoniously on the floor. She could still see the points where Heero's bullets had knocked out their lift units; they wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

"That's why I don't want you to be fixed," said Ryoko, "That way Ayeka can't order you two to try and capture me again!"

"They cannot stay like this forever!" cried Ayeka, "Washu, please; you must repair them!"

Washu shrugged. "I'll get to it later. Don't pester me about it or I won't fix them at all."

Ayeka's face paled, and she frantically nodded. "Very well, Washu! Rest assured that the last thing I wish to do is pester you!"

"Oh, dear," said Azaka, "I fear our chances to be mobile again are at the whims of a demon, Kamidake."

"Our situation is certainly dire!" chimed Kamidake.

"And you're not helping it much by calling me a demon," Washu added with a smirk, "You two better be on your best behavior over there, or I'll take you into my lab, tear you down, and rebuild you as _my_ personal bodyguards!"

"That's impossible!" declared Azaka, "No one has ever been able to subvert a Juraian Guardian!"

"It cannot be done!" cried Kamidake, "Only the ancient masters of Jurai understand our inner workings!"

Washu chuckled. "And who do you think _taught_ them how to create beings like the two of you?"

Ayeka's eyes practically bulged out of her head at that statement. "Surely you jest…"

Washu grinned. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Do you care to bet the loyalty of your guardian entities on it, Ayeka?"

Ayeka swiftly bowed her head. "I most certainly do not! Please, forgive their outbursts, Washu! It shall not happen again!"

Washu's smile became _slightly_ less devious. "Okay, but only because you asked nicely."

"I hate to be rude," said Heero, "but Azaka and Kamidake are a secondary concern right now. Kiyone, are you able to stand?"

Kiyone nodded as she cautiously shifted on the couch until her feet were touching the floor. "I… I think so. Why?"

"We need to talk," he said, "In private. Care to join me for a walk?"

"What is this, Sir Heero?" asked Ayeka.

"Whoa!" said Ryoko, looking frantically between Kiyone and Heero, "You can't be serious, Heero! You just got finished fighting her!"

"I don't think Miss Kiyone should be walking around right now, Heero," said Sasami, "She should still rest."

"Yeah!" cried Mihoshi, "You did knock her out, after all!"

Kiyone shook her head. "It's okay, Mihoshi."

She then stood up and smiled at her partner. "See? I'm totally fine."

"Good," said Heero as he headed for the door, "Let's go."

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka, looking more than a little concerned, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Heero replied.

"Hey, cop!" said Ryoko, glaring daggers at Kiyone, "If you try to hurt him out there then you're going to answer to me, you got that?"

"Stand down, Ryoko," said Heero, "Everything will be fine. We're just going to talk. Isn't that right, Kiyone?"

Kiyone nodded; there was no point in her starting another fight, and she doubted that she would come off any better in a second round than she had in the first. "That's right."

Ryoko sighed, but she wasn't done glaring at Kiyone. "Fine."

 _What's her deal?_ , thought Kiyone, _She's a pirate, so why's she acting so protective of this guy? It doesn't fit her profile at all._

"Heero," said Mihoshi nervously, "please… please don't hurt Kiyone, okay?"

Kiyone was surprised to see Heero give her partner a small smile. "It's all right, Mihoshi. I promise I won't do anything to harm her."

Mihoshi smiled back. "Okay. Have fun!"

 _I can't believe how fast she switches gears_ , mused Kiyone, _I guess some things really never change…_

"Enjoy your walk," said Sasami, "I'll start making some dinner, okay Heero? I know it's early, but I bet you're hungry after everything that happened earlier."

Heero nodded. "That'll be nice. Thank you, Sasami."

Sasami smiled. "Sure. See you later!"

Kiyone shook her head as she followed Heero out the door. A princess from Jurai's Royal Family offering to cook for a commoner? Sasami may have had a reputation across the Empire for being nice, but that still seemed like a bit much.

As she shut the door behind her she turned back to Heero. "So, where are we going?"

"Not far," Heero replied, "We'll just walk around the lake. Are you up for that?"

Kiyone nodded and smiled. "Sure. You may have knocked me out, but I'm not that weak. I bounce back pretty quickly."

"So I can tell," said Heero as the two of them started towards the lake, "Your resilience is impressive. I imagine that's served you well in your career."

Kiyone sighed as she thought of all the times that she'd scrambled to recover from one of Mihoshi's many, _many_ mishaps. "That's one way to put it."

"I may not know Mihoshi as well as you do," said Heero, "but the limited experience I've had with her has taught me a few things about her. She can definitely be a handful, and she's not exactly the most observant person out there…"

Kiyone smirked. "You're preaching to the choir there, pal."

"But," Heero continued, "her heart's in the right place. She's kind, energetic, and genuinely wants to do the right thing. She's devoted to being a member of the Galaxy Police, even if she may not be its most effective officer. Mihoshi's a good woman; you could have far worse partners than her."

Kiyone shook her head. "Sorry, but you have no idea how wrong you are, Heero."

"I don't think I'm wrong at all," said Heero as he gave her what struck Kiyone as a rather harsh look, "Partnerships are a two-way street, Kiyone. I've been around Mihoshi long enough to learn about her faults, and I'm sure that they've made working with her a headache. However, I still believe she gives everything she's got to whatever she sets her mind to. Whether it's being a member of the Galaxy Police or simply helping out around the house here, Mihoshi brings her best effort to whatever tasks she's given, and she's very enthusiastic about it. As her partner, you should at least be able to recognize that."

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Hey! What gives you the right to criticize the way I deal with my partner? I should be made a saint for the crap that she makes me put up with! She's all but ruined my career thanks to being such an epic airhead!"

"I'll admit that, apart from the fight yesterday, I haven't really had much of a chance to see you two work together," said Heero, "but what I witnessed yesterday gave me a few ideas. You don't view Mihoshi as an equal in your partnership. You think of her as little more than a burden that you were unjustly settled with. Does that sound about right?"

Kiyone wanted to shoot back with some witty retort, but she found that she couldn't do it. She didn't know how, but this local that she'd only met an hour or two ago had somehow cut right to the heart of her feelings on her partnership with Mihoshi.

"I'll be the first to say that Mihoshi has her issues," Heero continued after moment, "but whatever her faults, I also know that her devotion to her duty as a member of the Galaxy Police is sincere. She really does love her job, and she wants to do it to the best of her ability. However, she can't do that if she has a partner who doesn't believe in her."

Kiyone put her hands on her hips. "So, what, am I just supposed to ignore her screw-ups and give her a pat on the back? We're cops! A mistake has the potential to get us killed!"

"Believe me, I'm aware of that," Heero replied, "I agree that Mihoshi needs to be called out when she makes a mistake. However, there has to be more to it than that. You have to give her the chance to learn from her mistakes and make amends. More importantly, you have to show her that _you_ think she can learn from those mistakes."

Kiyone sighed. "Look I get that I've been hard on her in the past. It's not that I don't want her to do better. It's just… well, I didn't sign up for this job just to be someone's mentor. I've got my own career goals, you know?"

Heero nodded. "I'm sure that you do. I also think that Mihoshi understands that. This may surprise you, but I think that she's a bit smarter than you give her credit for. She may not be the most perceptive person out there, but she's not completely blind either."

"Maybe," said Kiyone, "So, what do you think I should do?"

"Ease up on her a bit," said Heero, "Don't be afraid to point out her mistakes, but give her the chance to make things right."

Kiyone smirked. "You make it sound so easy."

"Believe me," said Heero, surprising Kiyone by smirking as well, "I know it will be anything but that. I don't know Mihoshi as well as you do, but I have enough familiarity with her to understand that a serious effort to improve her development will be an uphill fight. That being said, I think that she'd work much harder to better herself if she knew that her partner was really rooting for her. She does look up to you, after all."

Kiyone couldn't help but smile. "I know. Don't tell her I said this, but… back when we were partners, sometimes I felt like she was my younger sister. A ditzy and clumsy younger sister who gave me no shortage of headaches… but a sister all the same."

"I'll keep that between us," said Heero, "although I think that if you told her that it would mean a lot to her."

Kiyone nodded. "Maybe I will someday."

They were quiet for a moment before Kiyone spoke again. "So… where do things go from here?"

"One of my superiors will be coming out here to meet you," Heero replied, "So in that respect, not much has changed. Where things go beyond that is up to you and me."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "Not sure that I follow you there."

"It's simple," said Heero, "Do you still plan to attempt to arrest Ryoko again?"

Kiyone sighed. "As much as I'd like to, I know you won't let me do that. I hate to admit it, but since you already beat me once in a fight I doubt I'll have better luck in a second round with you."

"What about when you and Mihoshi eventually leave?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing, "You'll head back to the Galaxy Police and report to your superiors, correct?"

Kiyone nodded. "Of course."

"And what will you tell them?" he asked.

Kiyone knew what he was getting at. "I take it you would prefer if I left out the matter of me finding Ryoko out here, right? You want me to lie to superiors."

Heero shook his head. "Not lie. Just leave out a few details. Surely you can exercise some discretion there, can't you?"

Kiyone folded her arms. "Why should I? As an officer, it's my duty to provide a truthful report to my superiors upon the completion of an assignment."

"For security and diplomacy's sake," said Heero, "The organization that I work for has been trying very hard to keep our contact with extraterrestrial life under wraps. If you told your superiors that Ryoko was out here I imagine that they would put together a strike force of some kind to come here and capture or kill her. Does that sound about right?"

Kiyone nodded. "Yes."

"And just what do you think such an action would do to our attempts to keep the peace on our planet?" asked Heero.

"I know what you're getting at," said Kiyone, "I suppose it would be in everyone's interests if we could find a way to avoid a major incident. If we came out here in force I doubt that Ryoko would go down without a fight, and she's capable of inflicting major damage when provoked."

"So," said Heero, "bearing that in mind, wouldn't you agree that an alternative approach to this situation would be preferable?"

"It would," said Kiyone, her eyes narrowing, "but I still don't like the fact that you're asking me to lie to my superiors."

"I can understand that," Heero replied, "but there's still a workaround. Your mission here was simply to investigate Mihoshi's beacon and rescue her if she was still alive, correct?"

Kiyone nodded. "That's right."

"So inform your superiors that you've accomplished that mission," said Heero, "You've found Mihoshi and will be returning to base soon. You'll be telling the truth, and there's no need to act beyond the bounds of your mission, right?"

Kiyone sighed. "I suppose that's true, but still… look, Ryoko's wanted by the Galaxy Police for a reason. Quite a few reasons, in fact. I'm sure that you mean well, but do you really think that you can keep her here? Her power makes her a serious threat to your world, and the list of crimes that she's committed in the wider galaxy is quite extensive. Her record is real, Heero; she's not some innocent woman on the run because she's wrongly accused."

"I'm well aware of that," said Heero, "Believe it or not, Ryoko told me quite a bit about her past soon after Mihoshi arrived here. I doubt that it was everything, but even so she was quite candid. She admitted to being a pirate, and I've let her stay here even with that knowledge. I think it would be best if she continued to stay here; I can continue my mission to monitor her, and if she's here then it means she will not be out in the wider galaxy committing more acts of piracy."

"I have to admit that that arrangement works out well for both of us," said Kiyone, "but still… can you really keep her confined here, Heero? She has Ryo-Ohki; she can run away any time that she wants, and there's nothing that you can do to stop that from happening."

Heero nodded. "I know. However… I think that if she was going to run, she would've done that by now."

"Then why is she still staying with you?" asked Kiyone.

She was surprised to see him chuckle. "Good question. I still haven't quite figured that out myself."

"That's not exactly comforting," said Kiyone dryly, "Heero, if I'm going to agree to this then I need some kind of assurance that Ryoko's actually going to stay here and that she won't be a threat to innocent people here or in the wider galaxy."

Heero shook his head. "I can't make any guarantees, Kiyone. All I can tell you is that I have faith in Ryoko and will do everything in my power to watch over her and prevent her from threatening others. I know that this is asking a lot, but I need you to trust me."

Kiyone smirked. "Trust the guy capable of disabling a mechanized armor suit with a knife and knocking me out with a single punch? You don't ask for much, do you?"

"I could've done far more damage than that," said Heero, "I didn't want to seriously hurt either you or Mihoshi, and you know that. Isn't the fact that I held back enough for you to at least give me the benefit of the doubt?"

"The fact that you were holding back and still able to take us both out like that is what worries me," said Kiyone, studying him carefully, "I mean, Mihoshi didn't use her armor's full power because she didn't want to kill you, but even so… there should've been no way for someone like you to beat her like that. No offense, but if that's you 'holding back' then I'm a little scared to think of what you're really capable of."

"I can understand that," said Heero, "and I have no intention of going all out when it concerns anyone here. I've been given responsibility by my government to watch over all of our visitors from beyond our star system, and I intend to fulfill that mission. I have no desire to fight with lethal intent if I can avoid it."

Kiyone smiled. "You're pretty restrained, aren't you? If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"Eighteen years," said Heero, "give or take a few months, perhaps. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure when my birthday is."

 _He's so young_ , she thought, _and yet he's capable of all this… I don't know if I should be scared or impressed. Maybe both…_

"You know," she said after a moment, "you've got a pretty good head on your shoulders considering how young you are. If things were different I might even try to recruit you into the Galaxy Police. I think you'd do all right there."

"I appreciate the thought," said Heero, "and it does sound like it'd be an interesting job. However, I think I've got my hands full with my current duties as is."

"No kidding," said Kiyone, "Dealing with all of your guests? You definitely don't have it easy."

"Perhaps," said Heero with a small smile, "but it's been an interesting experience. I don't regret any of it."

Kiyone whistled. "Not sure if I could look at it the same way. I'm amazed that you've kept your sanity intact with that crowd."

"I've been in enough high-stress situations that I know how to keep my cool," Heero replied, "My current circumstances are unusual, but I can handle it."

Kiyone nodded. "I bet. I don't know you very well, but from what I've seen so far it looks like your government made the right call in putting you in charge of your guests. You've handled things pretty well."

"Are you including our fight in that?" asked Heero.

Kiyone shrugged. "I'll admit that I'm still a little sore about that… in more ways than one. Still, no one died or was seriously hurt. We're all in one piece and thanks to that you and I have had a chance to resolve our situation."

"That's the outcome I was shooting for," said Heero.

"Well, nice job with that," Kiyone replied, "So, your superior's coming out soon to interview me, right?"

Heero nodded. "It should be tomorrow. There's still some room in the house, so you're welcome to spend the night here rather than your ship."

"Thanks," said Kiyone with a smile, "I think I'll take you up on that."

"You'll have to share Mihoshi's room," said Heero, "Are you okay with that?"

Kiyone nodded. "That'll be fine. I'm sure she'll want to get caught up anyway."

"Thanks for being flexible with this," said Heero.

"Sure," said Kiyone, "By the way… I know you and I've already gone over our issue regarding Ryoko, but she's not the only guest of yours that I'm worried about."

"You're referring to Washu," said Heero casually, "What has you so concerned?"

"I know she was exiled a long time ago," said Kiyone, "but that doesn't change the fact that she built some pretty dangerous stuff back in her day. I'm not sure I like her being out here and free of her confinement."

"I'll admit that her new lab's caused us some problems," said Heero with a shrug, "but I've been monitoring her to the best of my abilities. For what it's worth, she doesn't seem to be intent on pursuing any truly dangerous work. At least, dangerous for her; from what I understand, what she's been doing these days to keep herself occupied is pretty tame compared to what she worked on prior to her exile."

"I'll have to check out her lab myself to verify," said Kiyone, "That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

"Not with me," said Heero, "but Washu might have different feelings about it."

"Any chance that you could put in a good word for me?" asked Kiyone.

"I can," Heero replied, "although I can't guarantee that she'll listen."

"I'll take anything I can get when it comes to her," said Kiyone, "I still can't believe she landed on a rock this far out. No offense."

"None taken," said Heero, "I'm surprised that we found her where we did. She's been out here for a long time."

Kiyone sighed. "I'm just glad you and the others were the ones to wake her up rather than any of the other locals. I have a feeling that that wouldn't have ended well."

"That makes two of us," said Heero, "She was enough of a handful for us to deal with as it is."

Kiyone laughed. "I bet. The notorious mad scientist Washu, stuck living with you and the others? I'm amazed that your house is still in one piece."

Heero shrugged. "It was touch and go for a while, but she seems to have found a balance. She might still shake up the place from time to time, but I don't think she's in any danger of burning it down anytime soon."

"For your sake, I hope you're right," said Kiyone, "By the way, there's one more thing that I wanted to ask you about."

"What's that?" said Heero.

"The Juraian princesses," said Kiyone, "Did you want me to take them home? I'm sure the Emperor's worried about his daughters if they've been out here for this long."

"I suppose it would be best to get them back home," said Heero, "We'll have to talk to Ayeka about that. I doubt that she'll mind riding back to the Empire in a Galaxy Police cruiser."

Kiyone smiled. "Not to mention it will look good on my report to my superiors."

Heero chuckled. "Always looking for a way to stand out to the brass, aren't you?"

"Hey," said Kiyone, "I've got to take every chance I can to polish my record. My career's been in the dumps for ages now. Finding two royals and returning them to the capital of the Empire will be a coup for me!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," said Heero, "You still have to get them back to Jurai in one piece, after all."

Kiyone laughed. "Please, that'll be easy! I know all the safest routes from here to Galaxy Police HQ and into the heart of the Empire of Jurai. Even with Mihoshi as my partner again, there's no way that we'll botch this!"

Heero smirked. "You sure don't lack for confidence."

"I've been waiting for ages for the chance to ride in from the Outland Sector back to the heart of civilization as a hero," said Kiyone with a grin "Now that it's within my grasp there's no way that I'm going to let it slip through my fingers!"

Heero nodded. "In that case, I wish you luck. If all goes well then it sounds like you'll have big things in store for your future career."

"Yup," said Kiyone, "and I'll owe it all to you; you've kept Ayeka and Sasami safe and unharmed all this time, after all. If things were different I'd totally buy you a drink for this!"

"I appreciate the thought," Heero replied, "As long as Ayeka and Sasami make it home safely, you can consider us to be even."

Kiyone shook her head. "No way. The least I can do is put in a good word for you in my report. If the Empire of Jurai or the Galaxy Police expands out to this area it'll be good to have a contact on the record with a proven record of friendly interactions with us."

"Not counting our fight, of course," said Heero with a chuckle.

"Hey," said Kiyone, "I'll totally let that slide, given what you've got me set up with now. Sure, I may not be hauling in Ryoko, but bringing Ayeka and Sasami back to Jurai is just as good. Retrieving my partner as well will be the icing on the cake of that mission report!"

"As long as everything works out well," said Heero, "I just want this whole incident to be wrapped up smoothly."

"You think your bosses will promote you for this?" asked Kiyone with a wink, "I could always pass my compliments to your superior when they come out tomorrow!"

"Thanks," said Heero, "but I'm not really looking for a promotion right now. My current duties are enough for me as it is."

Kiyone shrugged. "Well, if you change your mind, let me know. There's no reason we both can't benefit from resolving this like professionals, right?"

Heero nodded. "True."

"So," said Kiyone, "why don't you and I head back inside and tell the others that we've got everything sorted out?"

"Sounds good," said Heero, "I know that Mihoshi will be happy that we worked things out amicably."

Kiyone nodded. "That's true. She's not very confrontational, so I know she wasn't happy about the two of us fighting. I guess you've been treating her pretty well; she really seems to like you."

"Mihoshi's a good woman," said Heero, "She has her faults, but her heart's in the right place. The least I could do was keep her safe until someone from her organization would be able to bring her home."

Kiyone smiled. "I know I talked about how she ruined my career, but… well, I am grateful that you took care of her. Sure, she drives me crazy, but I don't really want anything bad to happen to her."

"I thought as much," said Heero.

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Just don't go sharing that with Mihoshi, okay? I can't have her thinking I've gone completely soft or she'll never respect me."

"I disagree with that," Heero replied, "but I'll keep your real thoughts to myself."

"Thanks," said Kiyone.

 _This guy's really something else_ , she thought as the two of them walked back towards the house, _I dismissed him as just a local, but he's really got his act together. Taking on me and Mihoshi the way he did, hashing things out with me after I regained consciousness…_

 _You're all right, Heero Yuy…_

….

"I cannot do it!"

The words came out much faster than Ayeka had intended, and her tone was much more forceful that she'd wanted it to be, but she couldn't help herself. What Kiyone had just told her was something she just could not agree to…

…or rather, did not _want_ to agree to.

Truth be told, Ayeka had been quietly dreading this moment once she'd learned of Kiyone's arrival. It was only natural that the Detective would seek to return her and her sister to the Empire after reuniting with her partner. Ayeka should've been more prepared for that, but she was not.

 _I haven't had enough time_ , she thought as she glanced furtively at her host, _I still have not found the chance I seek to convince Sir Heero of my affections! I cannot leave now!_

Of course, she could not openly state that that was the real reason why she did not wish to return to the Empire. However, Ayeka found herself ill-prepared to offer up a sufficient excuse; she had not given the appropriate amount of thought to the matter. It may not have been Kiyone's intention, but she had put Ayeka on the spot, and she was at a loss for how to recover from this dire situation.

The Detective in question appeared quite taken aback by Ayeka's emphatic refusal of her offer. "What? I don't understand!"

"Ayeka, what's wrong with you?" asked Mihoshi, "This is the chance for you and Sasami to go home!"

"It's highly unlikely that you'll get another one anytime soon once Kiyone departs with Mihoshi," said Washu.

"Better get while the getting's good!" said Ryoko with a grin.

 _Damn her_ , she thought as she shot a glare at the pirate, _That fiend is enjoying this! If I leave this world then Sir Heero will be at her mercy. I cannot abandon him to such a fate!_

"Princess Ayeka," said Azaka, "Forgive me for questioning you, but why would you decline this chance to return to the Empire?"

"Surely your father and mother must be very worried about you after such an extended absence," said Kamidake, "and you have obligations to the Empire as the crown princess as well."

"With all due respect, your Highness," said Kiyone, "your bodyguards are right. I can't think of any reason why you would want to stay on this world. Far be it from me to lecture you, but you do have duties as a member of the Royal Family."

Ayeka bowed her head. "I am well aware of that, Detective. However… I simply cannot return to the Empire at this time!"

"You're not making a whole lot of sense," said Heero, and Ayeka could not help but blush as he sat down next to her, "Ayeka, why don't you want to go home?"

 _Oh, if only I could summon the courage to tell you the truth, Sir Heero_ , she silently cried, _I'm ashamed to admit it, but my strength abandons me the moment I consider revealing the feelings I have developed for you!_

She looked at the man that had come to mean so much to her in such a short amount of time. He was as calm and collected as ever, but Ayeka had come to know him well enough that she was now able to read into some of his more subtle expressions. She was touched by what appeared to be genuine concern on his part; he truly sought to understand the reasons behind her refusal. Were those reasons anything other than her growing affections for him she would come clean, but this was the one matter that she found that she could not be completely honest about with him.

"Forgive me, Sir Heero," she said, "I have no desire to impose upon you further than I already have, but… I am not ready to return to the Empire at this time. If Sasami desires to return then I would be more than happy to entrust her safety to Detectives Kiyone and Mihoshi for the journey home."

"You still haven't told us why you're set on staying here, your Highness," said Kiyone.

"I know why," said Sasami with a smile.

Ayeka blushed. She knew her younger sister was perceptive, but did she truly know just how deep her affection for Heero had become?

"Sasami…" said Ayeka nervously.

"She likes being out here with you, Heero!" said Sasami, "So do I! It's like a vacation out here!"

Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief. Whether that was truly her sister's opinion or if she had simply decided to refrain from revealing the true nature of Ayeka's feelings, it did not matter. Sasami had come up with an excuse, and however frivolous if might be Ayeka would eagerly latch onto it.

"I'm… I'm afraid my sister is right, Sir Heero," said Ayeka, giving him an embarrassed smile, "The truth is… the time I've spent out here has been very pleasant, even with all the incidents we've experienced since my arrival. Staying on your world has truly been a breath of fresh air, and I wish to continue my sojourn here a while longer. I realize that I'm being selfish, and I do sincerely apologize for it, but I believe I need this. In fact, I had not realized until quite recently just how much I needed to be away from the Empire for a while."

"I want to stay longer too!" said Sasami, "Heero, _please_ let us stay with you!"

"Hey," said Ryoko, folding her arms, "What do you think you're doing, Ayeka? You don't get to mooch off Heero just because you want a vacation!"

"Mooch?" said Ayeka, her eyes narrowing, "That's a rich word coming from the likes of _you_ , Ryoko! You've done nothing but live off of Sir Heero's grace and charity since the moment you arrived here!"

"Well, so have you!" Ryoko shot back.

"Please don't start fighting again, you two!" cried Mihoshi.

"Stop it, Ayeka!" pleaded Sasami.

"Is it always like this?" Kiyone asked.

Washu chuckled. "You have no idea, Detective."

"Heero," said Ryoko, "She's totally trying to take advantage of you!"

"She would be in good company," said Heero, and Ayeka was surprised to see him smirk as he looked at Ryoko, "Wouldn't you agree, Ryoko?"

Ryoko blushed and looked down; this was one of the rare times Ayeka had seen her express anything close to embarrassment or shame. "Well…"

"Heero," said Sasami, "Can we _please_ stay longer?"

"You can't seriously be considering this, Heero," said Kiyone, "They need to be returned home to the Empire!"

"The Detective speaks the truth," said Azaka.

"Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami really should be heading home," said Kamidake.

Ayeka once again turned to her host. "Sir Heero… whatever your decision in this matter is, I shall not argue against it. However, I humbly beg of you to extend your hospitality to me a while longer. Please, Sir Heero! Being here with you has been the experience of a lifetime, and I do not wish for it to end so soon. Let me stay by your side and learn more about your world!"

"Heero…" said Kiyone, sounding more than a little exasperated, "You've got to be reasonable here. Remember what you and I talked about earlier?"

Heero sighed. "I really am going soft, aren't I?"

"Sir Heero?" said Ayeka, her heart hammering in her chest.

He looked at her and her sister. "Is this truly what you want?"

Ayeka nodded frantically. "Absolutely!"

"Yeah!" cried Sasami.

Heero nodded. "Very well, then. As long as you agree to remain under my supervision, you're free to stay."

Ayeka could not contain herself. Throwing all restraint to the wind, she threw herself at Heero and wrapped her arms around him tightly. She'd never felt so happy and relieved in all her life, and it was all she could do to refrain from kissing Heero right then and there.

"Oh, _thank you_ , Sir Heero!" she cried, "I promise that you will not regret this!"

"You're the best, Heero!" yelled Sasami as she hugged Heero from the opposite side.

Ayeka was dimly aware of Kiyone's growing dismay. "No… this isn't how it was supposed to go!"

"What's wrong, Kiyone?" asked Mihoshi, "We should be happy for them!"

Kiyone looked down at the floor in despair. "My beautiful career… I just watched it go up in smoke…"

"Damn it!" she heard Ryoko grumble, "This sucks!"

"Is this really all right?" asked Azaka.

"The princesses seem to be happy with it," said Kamidake.

"Ayeka? Sasami?" said Heero, sounding a little strained, "It's… getting a little hard to breathe…"

Ayeka quickly released him, followed swiftly by her sister. "Oh, dear! Are you all right, Sir Heero?"

The young man nodded, rubbing his neck as he did so. "I think so."

Ayeka smiled. "That's good. Please, forgive my enthusiasm. That wasn't very proper of me."

Heero shook his head. "It's all right."

"We got a little carried away," said Sasami with a big, innocent grin on her face.

 _How fortunate for me that mother was not here to see that_ , Ayeka thought, resisting the urge to cringe, _I fear that she would never let me hear the end of it. Let alone what father and Funaho might say…_

Her momentary embarrassment was already fading in the face of her overwhelming joy, though. Once again, she knew that she was greatly indebted to Heero for his compassion and charity, and Ayeka was determined to do her utmost to prove to him that she was worthy of such consideration on his part.

"Aw," said Mihoshi, "that's so sweet of you, Heero! I wish that Kiyone and I could stay with you for a while longer."

"You'll be here at least another night," said Heero, "Sally wants to meet with Kiyone before the two of you leave."

"Great!" said Mihoshi, "I like her! She's a nice lady."

"Heero," said Kiyone, "What exactly am I supposed to tell my superiors about this? I can't just leave out of my report the fact that the Emperor's two daughters are out here!"

"You won't have to," said Ayeka, able to take the initiative now that she knew Heero would let her and Sasami stay longer, "Detective, please inform your superiors that Sasami and I are taking an extended leave of absence from the capital on this planet. They can pass that message along to Jurai. If my father seeks to retrieve us then, that will be his decision."

Kiyone sighed. "All right."

"Father will be fine with it," said Sasami, "You should worry about mother, Ayeka. If we stay out here too long she'll come after us, and then she'll meet Heero!"

Ayeka felt herself blush at the very thought of such an encounter. "Oh, dear…"

"What's wrong?" asked Heero, "Would your mother not approve of someone like me watching over you?"

Ayeka quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, that's not an issue at all, Sir Heero!"

 _Quite the opposite, in fact_ , she thought, _If mother ever found out about Sir Heero, I fear that she might take a rather keen interest in him. She wouldn't be the only one. Funaho, Lady Seto… Sir Heero will never know a moment's peace if any of them find out about him!_

"Well, if you insist," said Kiyone reluctantly, "Heero, if you don't mind I'm going to head to the _Yagami_ and start writing up my report. Don't worry; I have no plans on departing until I've met with your superior."

Heero nodded. "Very well."

"Oh!" said Mihoshi excitedly, "I'll come too, Kiyone! I haven't written a report in so long, so I really should do that!"

"It's fine, Mihoshi," said Kiyone, looking like she needed an excuse to get away from her partner for a little bit, "You can do your report on our way back to HQ."

"Okay!" Mihoshi chirped.

Ayeka smiled as Kiyone headed out the door. The Detective's report would doubtlessly find its way to Jurai sooner or later, but she wasn't particularly worried about what would come of that. As long as her father and mother knew that she and Sasami were all right then Ayeka doubted that they would be in any real hurry to have them returned to the Empire. That gave her some much needed time to redouble her efforts on getting closer to her host and winning his heart.

 _Fortune has smiled upon me again_ , she thought as she looked at Heero again, _I shall not let this chance pass me by!_

….

 **October 18** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"You know," said Sally as she walked through the front door, "we really have to stop meeting like this, Heero."

"How was the flight?" he asked, ignoring her attempt at humor.

Sally smiled. "Oh, it was fine. I caught up on some work on the way out here."

Heero nodded as he closed the door behind her. "How's the Director taking the news?"

"Pretty well," said Sally as she took off her shoes, "The fact that Kiyone landed out here rather than by the capital or another urban area definitely helps things. That was her ship floating over the lake, right?"

"Who else's would it be?" Heero deadpanned.

Sally chuckled. "True. At least this one's in one piece. Whatever else she might be, this Kiyone's certainly better at atmospheric entry than Mihoshi. Speaking of which, where is everyone?"

"In the living room," Heero replied, "Come on."

Sally nodded and followed him, and a few seconds later she once again found herself face to face with Heero's ever growing collection of female alien houseguests. It wasn't hard to pick out Kiyone in the crowd; all she had to do was scan for the only unfamiliar face.

"Lady Sally!" cried Ayeka as Heero led her into the room, "Welcome!"

"It's good to see you again!" said Mihoshi.

"Yeah!" cried Sasami as she rushed forward to greet her, "Where's the Director?"

"Lady Une's pretty busy, Sasami," said Sally, "I'm afraid that she didn't have time to join me on my flight out here. She did want me to tell you that she said 'hello', though. She's quite fond of you."

"Aw, thank you!" Sasami replied, "Do you want to join us for lunch? It's almost ready!"

Sally nodded. "Sure, why not? Thank you."

"Make yourself at home," said Heero as he followed Sasami towards the kitchen, "We'll bring the food out soon."

"What's on the menu?" she asked.

"Mexican today," said Heero, "Hard shell and soft shell. We've also got rice and beans, along with chips and salsa."

Sally smiled. "Going all out today, huh? All right, then. I'll take two hard shell tacos and some rice on the side."

Heero nodded. "You got it."

 _How about that?_ , she mused as she watched Heero and Sasami return to their cooking, _It's almost like he's been domesticated. Oh, Duo would_ kill _to learn about this!_

As amusing as the thought was, Sally kept it to herself. This was a business trip, after all, and it would be unprofessional of her to get sidetracked, regardless of how interesting the reasons for it might be. Deciding that now was as good a time as any to start getting to know the new arrival, Sally headed over towards Kiyone.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked, nodding at the spot on the couch next to her.

Kiyone nodded and gave her a polite smile. "Please, feel free."

"You must be Detective Makibi," said Sally as she sat down and held out her hand, "My name's Sally Po. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," the officer replied as she shook her hand, "and you can just call me Kiyone, Miss Po."

The Preventers operative smiled. "Sally's fine, Kiyone. I hope your stay so far has been comfortable."

"Oh, yes," said Kiyone, "Your agent's been very professional in his conduct. I must say, I'm impressed; Heero's a model officer for your organization."

 _She's known him less than a day and she's already singing his praises_ , thought Sally, resisting the urge to smirk, _Heero, you really do have a way with the ladies, don't you?_

"Thank you," said Sally, "I'm sure Heero would appreciate the compliment."

Kiyone nodded. "Personally, I think that he could do very well in an organization like the Galaxy Police."

"Hey!" Ryoko snapped, "Don't even think of trying to recruit him!"

Sally chuckled. "What's the matter, Ryoko? Heero's already a cop of sorts when you think about it."

Ryoko shook her head. "He's different. He's too good for the Galaxy Police!"

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that we're sub-par, Ryoko? How dare you insult the Galaxy Police!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "I'll insult them all I want. You guys are a bunch of paper pushers and wimps!"

"Please stop fighting, you two!" cried Mihoshi.

Off to the side Sally saw Washu shake her head. "They're almost as bad as her and Ayeka…"

"Lunch is ready!" yelled Sasami from the kitchen, "Come and dish up!"

"No shoving," said Heero, "We don't need a repeat of last week's beef stroganoff incident."

"That was Ayeka's fault!" Ryoko quipped, "She was the one in a hurry to stuff her face!"

" _Excuse me_?" Ayeka huffed indignantly, "I distinctly recall that mess being _your_ responsibility, Ryoko!"

 _Never a dull moment with these two_ , Sally mused, _I almost feel sorry for you, Heero…_

"You two can keep fighting," said Washu, who was already in the kitchen, "The rest of us will take the food."

"Hey!" Ryoko snapped, "Save some for me!"

"And for me as well!" cried Ayeka.

"Calm yourselves first," said Heero firmly, "or I'll keep you out there with no food until everyone else has finished eating."

Sally smirked as Ryoko and Ayeka paled at the thought of being denied what smelled like a delicious lunch made by Heero and Sasami. Heero really had learned how to effectively handle his houseguests.

"Aw, you can't do that!" cried Ryoko, "Come on, Heero!"

"Please, Sir Heero!" said Ayeka as she bowed her head, "I swear that it won't happen again!"

Heero nodded. "All right. Come on."

Everyone dished up without incident, and a few moments later they were all back in the living room chowing down. No matter how many times she came over to this place, the sight of Heero sharing a meal with so many alien women never ceased to amaze Sally. If she wasn't right in the middle of it she would never have believed it had happened, or that he did this every day now.

 _He's adapted quite well to his new circumstances_ , she mused in between bites, _Heero… you're changing. I wonder if you're even aware of it…_

Lunch went by without incident, and while Heero and Sasami were cleaning up Sally knew that it was time to get to the business at hand. "Kiyone, do you mind if we have a word in private?"

Kiyone nodded. "Of course. Heero did say that you would want to interview me before I left here with Mihoshi."

Sally smiled. "I appreciate you being so cooperative. Let's step outside. This shouldn't take too long."

….

"You know," said a familiar voice from behind her, "you shouldn't eavesdrop on your own partner."

Mihoshi jumped, tripped, and fell to the floor in one graceless sequence. Turning around, she saw Heero standing nearby. He offered her a hand, one that she gratefully accepted.

"I know," she said as he hauled her to her feet and she looked back out the sliding door at Kiyone and Sally, "but… I want to know if they're saying anything about me!"

She'd been standing next to the door, and had had it cracked ever so slightly so she could try to listen in on Kiyone and Sally. Her efforts had been less than successful; the two women had started walking out towards the lake, and while they hadn't gone all the way out to the water's edge it was still far enough that making out anything that they said was difficult at best.

"You shouldn't be worrying about that," said Heero, "You haven't caused any trouble while you've been here, so at the very least Sally won't have anything bad to say about you."

"But what about Kiyone?" she asked, glancing back outside, "I know she's still frustrated over what happened yesterday!"

Heero shook his head. "Actually, I think you're wrong about that. I may not know her as well as you do, but from what I can tell I believe she's moved on from yesterday's skirmish and your reluctant role in it."

Mihoshi smiled. "You think so?"

Heero nodded. "Yes."

It was nice to hear Heero say that, but truth be told Mihoshi was worried about more than just whatever it was that Kiyone and Sally might be talking about. The fact that Heero's commanding officer was here meant that Mihoshi's time with her handsome young host would soon be coming to an end. Once Sally had gotten whatever information she desired from Kiyone there would be no reason for her and Mihoshi to remain on Earth. Kiyone's mission had been to find Mihoshi and return with her to Galaxy Police HQ after all, and she had no reason to delay the completion of that mission any longer than necessary.

 _We'll probably be leaving later today_ , she thought, _or tomorrow at the latest. Once we do, that'll be it…_

 _I'll never see Heero again._

It was to be expected, of course; since she had been assigned to the Outland Sector's Traffic Patrol Division before her crash and would likely remain posted to that duty, she could not remain on a single planet. She would be responsible for patrolling a very large area of outer space, and while doing so with her partner would make the job more bearable it still meant that her odds of coming to Earth again were practically non-existent. Even under the remote chance that she wound up in this star system again, it would not be for a social call; her superiors would not want her making contact with anyone on Earth regardless of the circumstances.

Such a separation might've been inevitable, but that didn't make it any easier for Mihoshi to accept. She'd been drawn to this world and marooned here by chance, but she had soon found that she enjoyed being on Earth more than anywhere else that she had been in quite a long time. It was true that it was a very nice planet, but it wasn't the scenery that had captivated Mihoshi's heart; it was the people.

Or, more specifically, one person.

Heero Yuy.

She may have been here for over a month now, but even so she couldn't get over how patient and considerate he'd been with her. For all that Mihoshi loved Kiyone, she knew that once she returned to her duties as a Galaxy Police officer she could expect to start wearing on her partner's nerves all too soon. If she'd ever come close to hitting Heero's limits Mihoshi had never seen evidence of it, but she knew all too well what Kiyone's tolerances were.

 _We might have fun together_ , she thought, _but still… I know that I'm going to be a burden for her again._

"What's wrong?" asked Heero.

Mihoshi nearly jumped again; she'd gotten so wrapped up in her worries that she'd completely forgotten that he was there. "Oh, it's nothing!"

Heero shook his head. "I don't think so. Come with me."

She raised an eyebrow but did as he instructed. She followed him out the sliding door, and she thought for a moment that he was going to take her over to where Kiyone and Sally were. He did start walking towards the lake, but the path he was on would give his superior and Mihoshi's partner a wide berth.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Just for a little walk around the lake," said Heero, "Like I did with Kiyone the day before."

Mihoshi saw Kiyone and Sally look at the two of them as they got closer to the lake. Not knowing what else to do, Mihoshi followed Heero's lead and gave the two of them a nod and a wave before continuing on her way.

"You're nervous," said Heero, "Are you really that afraid of going back to working with Kiyone?"

Mihoshi shook her head and smiled. "No, not at all! Kiyone can be strict sometimes, but she's a great partner!"

Heero nodded. "I'm sure that she is. That being said, I know that she's been a little hard on you in the past. You don't have to sugarcoat it, Mihoshi."

She sighed. "Well… I deserve it with all my screw-ups."

Heero shook his head. "No, you don't. I know that all you want is a chance to prove yourself, and you're going to get it."

"How do you know that?" she asked him.

"I had a nice chat with Kiyone yesterday," he said, "We discussed your partnership in great detail."

Mihoshi gulped. "And… what did you say?"

"I told Kiyone that she needed to ease up on you," Heero replied, "She'll still call out your mistakes, but I think you'll find her willing to give you a better opportunity to make them right."

Mihoshi smiled. "You really think so?"

Heero nodded. "I do. Your partner can be strict, Mihoshi, but she really does care about you. Kiyone wants your skills to improve, and I believe that she will give you the chance to demonstrate your growth. You will have to work hard to earn that chance, though."

Mihoshi couldn't help herself, and she threw herself at Heero, hugging him as tight as she could. "Thank you, Heero! You're the best!"

She blushed as she felt the young man awkwardly return her embrace and pat her on the back. "You don't need to thank me, Mihoshi. Just do your best to learn and grow. Show Kiyone that she can have faith in your abilities."

Mihoshi nodded as she continued to squeeze him. "I will, I promise!"

"All right," said Heero, and he sounded just a little bit strained, "Now… do you mind letting go, Mihoshi?"

Her eyes widened and she quickly released him. "Oh, right! Sorry, Heero! I guess I got a little carried away."

Heero shook his head. "It's all right. Don't worry about it."

 _I'm really going to miss him_ , she thought as she looked at the man who had acted as her handsome guardian ever since her arrival on this planet, _Heero… you're a really great guy, you know that? I don't think that anyone else would've talked Kiyone into giving me another chance like that, but you did. I owe you big time._

She tried to think of some way that she could repay him for all he had done for her since her arrival, but what was there that she could do that would possibly convey her gratitude? Matters were only made worse by the fact that her departure was likely mere hours away, or perhaps a day at most. That wasn't nearly enough time for her to come up with a sufficient means of thanking him for his help.

"So," she said, "what will you do after I go back to the Galaxy Police, Heero?"

"Well," he replied, "I'll still have the others to keep an eye on. I think I'll be out at this house for the foreseeable future."

Mihoshi smiled. "I wish I could stay out here longer. I mean, I know that I've been away from the Galaxy Police for too long, but still… I really like being out here with you, Heero."

Once again she could feel herself blushing. Would it really be so bad if she went further than that? If she was going to be leaving soon anyway, would there really be any harm in telling him that her feelings for him went deeper than simple friendship?

 _No_ , she thought, _I can't! I don't want to make things complicated right before I leave! We have to part as friends!_

It hurt more than she thought it would to admit that to herself. Even if it was for the best, it was still hard to acknowledge that it had to end like this. Oh, how tempted she was to just throw her career away right then and there, to let Kiyone fly off without her and spend the rest of her life at this lovely country house with the nicest guy she'd ever met.

"Mihoshi?" said Heero, "Are you okay?"

She nodded quickly and smiled again. "Oh, I'm fine, Heero!"

He looked skeptical, but he didn't press the matter. "All right."

They walked along the side of the lake for a few moments before Mihoshi sighed; she wanted to at least get a little bit of what she was feeling out into the open. It wouldn't be a full admission, but it'd still be better than nothing.

"Actually," she said nervously, "to be honest… I'm really gonna miss you, Heero."

He surprised her with a small smile. "I'll miss you too, Mihoshi."

She wasn't the best at reading people, but there was something about the way that he was looking at her that made Mihoshi realize he was being completely sincere. There was a kind of subtle openness about him, like he was letting a little more of himself out into the world than normal. It made her heart race, and she had to pull herself back from spilling the beans right then and there.

"You're sweet," she said.

It felt like such a lame reply. All the things she wanted to say to him, and _that_ was the best she could come up with?

"You know," said Heero, "this doesn't have to be goodbye forever, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Earth's in the area that you patrol, right?" he said, "As long as you call ahead, I'd have no problem with you stopping by for a visit."

Mihoshi smiled. She didn't know if she'd ever get the chance to do that, but the fact that he was offering his hospitality all the same meant a great deal to her.

"Thanks," she said, "I'll try not to crash my ship next time."

"That would be nice," Heero replied with a small smirk.

"Try to keep Ryoko out of trouble while I'm gone, okay?" she said with a wink.

"I'll do my best," said Heero, "I don't want her popping back up on the Galaxy Police's radar or returning to her pirating career."

Mihoshi nodded. "I think you'll do just fine. Please keep Ayeka and Sasami safe too. If something happens to them out here then Kiyone and I could get in trouble for not taking them with us when we had the chance."

"They'll be safe," Heero replied, "I promise."

"Good," said Mihoshi with a smile, "and keep an eye on Washu, okay? I know all her little inventions are fun, but Kiyone's worried about her doing something dangerous."

"I wouldn't exactly call what Washu's currently been up to 'fun'," said Heero, "but I'll try to keep her in check just the same."

Mihoshi was sure that he would. Washu might be unpredictable, but with the way Heero had worked his way into Mihoshi's heart she was sure that the legendary mad scientist would care about him as well in her own way and wouldn't want to do anything that caused him real trouble. As she thought about it, she realized that the rest of the girls were the same way.

They all liked him in their own way, and the funny thing was that Heero really hadn't tried too hard to gain their affections. He hadn't flirted with them or gone out of his way to impress them or anything like that. He'd simply been himself and done his duty as a member of Preventers…

…and that had been more than enough.

 _I think I was right about you, Heero_ , she mused as she looked at the young man whom she considered to be both a guardian and, at the very least, a dear friend, _You'd be right at home with the Galaxy Police. I wish Kiyone and I could take you with us. You could go to the academy, and then work cases and patrols with us. Everyone in the Galaxy Police could see what I see when I look at you, what makes you so special._

 _They could see you, and they would love you…_

 _…just like I do._

….

"Well," said Heero, "Your thoughts?"

He was alone with Sally now. The two of them were standing on the shore of the small lake, looking out at the island and the beautiful tree on it, not to mention the crimson Galaxy Police cruiser floating over the water. They'd finished their respective conversations with Mihoshi and Kiyone a few minutes ago, and now it was time for the after action report, as it were.

Sally looked at him and smiled. "You handled things very well with her, Heero. She spoke highly of you and your abilities. I don't think I could've asked for a better first impression."

Heero refrained from sighing with relief; that meant that Kiyone had neglected to mention their fight from the previous day, just like he'd hoped. "I appreciate that."

"I am a little surprised that you agreed to allow Ayeka and Sasami to stay longer," she said, her smile becoming a smirk, "You're going soft, Heero."

"Don't remind me," he deadpanned.

Sally chuckled. "Oh, if only the girls at HQ could see this side of you. They'd be fawning all over you."

"Send them Duo's way," Heero replied, "He'll have fun with them until Hilde scares them off."

"As funny a mental image as that is, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that," said Sally, "Besides, I'm too nice to give Hilde a headache like that."

"But you have no problem inflicting that headache on _me_ , is that right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sally patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, relax, Heero. I thought the girls here would've helped you loosen up more than this."

Heero shrugged. "Maybe they have, and I'm just not showing it to you right now."

Sally looked thoughtfully at him. "Perhaps. Is there any lady in particular that I should thank for that?"

For some reason Heero couldn't place, Ryoko's face was the first one to flash through his mind. He wouldn't tell that to Sally, though; she'd never let him hear the end of it.

"Take your pick," he said, hoping to sound as noncommittal and nonchalant as possible.

Of course it didn't work on Sally; it never did. He didn't know how she had become so adept at reading him, and he supposed that it didn't matter. All that really mattered was how he dealt with it… and if she decided to keep her insights to herself or spread them to others that Heero would much rather remained in the dark.

"I already have," she said with a smile, "and I'm not the only one. For those of us in our organization who are 'in the know' regarding your present circumstances, there's a little pool that's been set up. Care to guess what for?"

"Not really," Heero replied, his gut already telling him _exactly_ what it was for.

Sally chuckled. "Well, in your case, I suppose guessing would be a waste of time. Tell me, how _is_ the lovely Ryoko doing?"

"Well enough," said Heero, suddenly wondering why his heartbeat had picked up ever so slightly at the mention of the beautiful pirate.

Sally smirked. "I'm sure she is."

"How long will you be staying here?" he asked, rather eager to change the subject.

"Oh, not too long," said Sally, "I'll stick around to watch Kiyone and Mihoshi take off, and then I'll head back to my hotel. From there I'll take my jet back to the capital."

"Have there been any developments out that way?" asked Heero, "With regards to Ayeka and Sasami's ships, I mean."

"We've tried sending more dive teams down into Lake Genval to study what's left of Ayeka's vessel," said Sally, "but we get the same result each time; a current kicks up and forces our divers back to the surface."

"That can't be natural," said Heero.

Sally nodded. "I agree. They always report seeing a green light just before the current kicks up, but beyond that we've got nothing. I'm sure Ayeka's ship is causing it, but since our divers can't get close we can't figure out how."

"Have you had any luck with the remains of Sasami's ship?" he asked.

Sally smiled. "Oh, yes, much more than with Ayeka's. Our scientists are positively obsessed with that thing. They've only taken a few pieces back to the labs for study, though; they insist on observing it at the crash site and keeping it as intact as possible. They think it's still alive and is undergoing some sort of healing process. It's all a bit over my head, to be honest."

"If you want, you could always borrow Washu and have her take a look at it," said Heero.

Sally laughed. "You just want me to take her off your hands for a bit, don't you? Perhaps someday, but for now Lady Une's instructions are quite adamant; she doesn't want your resident mad scientist anywhere near the capital, or the rest of Europe for that matter."

Heero sighed. "I can't say that I blame her for that."

"Neither can I," said Sally, "Although if you were to go along with her then the Director might change her tune. From what little I've observed, Washu does seem to at least respect you."

"Wouldn't me going with her defeat the purpose of trying to get her away from here in the first place?" Heero deadpanned.

Sally chuckled. "Only for you, Heero."

The two of them looked up at Kiyone's ship in silence for a moment before Heero spoke again. "I'm surprised that you're willing to let Kiyone and Mihoshi leave so quickly. The Director won't have any time to send a science team out here to study the ship."

Sally shook her head. "It's not necessary. While I'm sure our scientists would kill for the chance to study a vessel like this intact, it's possible that attempting to hold the ship here for that purpose could be interpreted as a hostile act by the Galaxy Police. We've salvaged the remains of Mihoshi's ship already, and while it's smaller than this one it does appear to share plenty of similarities. Our scientists have already learned a great deal from that wreckage and from their studies of the crash site in the Ardennes. There's no need for us to hold Kiyone and Mihoshi here and risk a possible diplomatic incident."

Heero nodded. "As long as you and the Director think that's the best call, I'm fine with whatever you two decide."

"What I'm more worried about," said Sally, "is Ayeka and Sasami continuing to stay here. We don't know how the Empire of Jurai will react to that."

"I've already taken that into account," Heero replied, "Ayeka gave Kiyone a message for her superiors to pass along to the Empire. It will let them know that she's on an extended vacation. The Empire will know that we're not holding them here against their will."

Sally nodded. "Well, I suppose that takes care of one concern. However, I have to imagine that eventually their father will want them to return home. Since we lack the means to communicate with the Empire directly, we have to assume that the Emperor will dispatch at least one ship to come out here and retrieve his daughters at some point in the future. Depending on the circumstances of their arrival, that could cause some problems."

Heero nodded. "You're right. Hopefully Ayeka and Sasami will be able to help prevent any serious incidents if we do end up with visitors from the Empire."

Sally smiled. "I'm sure they'll do their best to help us out with that when the time comes. If nothing else, both of those girls are certainly fond of you."

"Yes," said Heero, wondering if Sally was hinting at anything there.

For a moment Heero thought she might press the matter, but then he saw her shrug and move on. "Well, shall we head back inside? I think it's about time we told Kiyone and Mihoshi that they're free to go."

"Sounds good," said Heero.

As they went back towards the house, Heero felt a strange sense of reluctance at the thought of giving Kiyone and Mihoshi the news that they could head back home. It actually had more to do with Mihoshi than Kiyone. For all the problems her clumsiness and cluelessness had caused, Heero realize that he really was going to miss the dark skinned and blonde haired space cop. He'd found her innocence and optimism to be very refreshing, and while those qualities could also be found in Sasami he still felt that his new life out here in the country would be lacking something without her around.

He shook it off. This was inevitable, and while Heero might miss Mihoshi when she was gone, he knew that it was for the best that she returned to the Galaxy Police. There was no sense in putting that off any longer than necessary.

….

It was all Mihoshi could do to keep from crying, though whether it was from joy or sadness she really couldn't say. Here she was, dressed in her full Galaxy Police uniform and standing beside Kiyone with their ship behind them, facing Heero and the others. The moment of truth was finally here; it was time to go home.

 _Well_ , she thought, forcing herself to smile, _this is it…_

She would miss all of them, not just Heero. Sasami's cheerfulness, Ayeka and Ryoko's arguing, Azaka and Kamidake's commentary, Washu's crazy inventions… each and every one of them would be remembered fondly.

"I want to thank you again for taking care of Mihoshi while she was here, Heero," said Kiyone, "The Galaxy Police will not forget that you aided one of its own."

Heero nodded. "I'm just glad that she got the change to be reunited with her partner."

So was Mihoshi, although she could've done without yesterday's fight. Still, things had ultimately worked out for the best, and as reluctant as she might be to leave Heero behind she was looking forward to seeing Galaxy Police HQ again.

"I'd like to thank you for delaying your departure until I had the chance to come out here," said Sally, "I'm grateful for your cooperation, and I know that Director Une shares my sentiment."

Kiyone nodded. "I'm glad that our interactions, however brief, have been on such good terms. In the event that a member of the Galaxy Police comes out to your system again and is in need of assistance, I'm sure that they will be in good hands."

"I'll tell everyone at HQ about you, Heero!" said Mihoshi, "They'll all know how nice you were to me!"

"I appreciate that," said Heero, "Take care of yourself, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi nodded. "I will, Heero."

"I wish the both of you a safe journey home," said Ayeka, bowing her head.

"It was nice to meet you two!" said Sasami with a smile, "Mihoshi, come back and visit some time, okay?"

Mihoshi smiled back. "I'll try."

"Heero," said Kiyone, "I trust that you'll keep your guests safe. I'll make sure HQ passes on the news regarding Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami. As long as the Royal Family knows that they're safe, I don't believe the Empire will cause any trouble for Earth."

"Thank you," said Heero.

"Be careful on your way out," said Sally, "Try not to get within visual range of our orbital colonies, please."

Kiyone nodded. "Of course."

"Ryoko, Washu," said Mihoshi, "Stay out of trouble, okay? Don't cause any problems for Heero!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Hey, just who made you the boss of me?"

Washu chuckled. "No promises, Mihoshi."

"I don't like the sound of that," said Azaka.

"It does not bode well for us," chirped Kamidake.

"Hey!" snapped Washu, "I'm the only one around here that's capable of fixing you two if you get damaged, remember? Show a little more respect!"

Ayeka sighed. "Oh, dear…"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, and Mihoshi saw the cat-rabbit hop forward until she was right at her feet.

Mihoshi smiled as she leaned down and pet the adorable furball on the head. "You be good now, okay, Ryo-Ohki? Don't eat too many carrots or you'll get fat!"

"Meow," the creature replied, and Mihoshi couldn't tell if she was agreeing with her or pouting.

"Mihoshi," said Kiyone as Ryo-Ohki hopped back over towards Sasami, "Are you ready?"

She looked at the group one more time before her gaze settled on Heero again. Her heart was pounding; there was so much she wanted to say but didn't dare to at that moment. Doing her best to calm her nerves, she walked up to Heero and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I'll never forget you, Heero," she said softly, "Don't forget about me, okay?"

She smiled as the young man returned her hug. "I won't. Be careful out there, Mihoshi. If you're out this way and need a place to stay, you know where to find me."

Mihoshi couldn't resist the urge to kiss him on the cheek. "You got it, Heero!"

She stepped back, and she quickly noticed that Ayeka and Ryoko were glaring daggers at her. Mihoshi could feel the heat rushing to her face; she couldn't believe what she'd just done.

Standing beside her partner again, Mihoshi gave Kiyone a nod. "Okay. Let's go."

Kiyone nodded and tapped a key on her wrist piece. The _Yagami_ 's side hatch opened up and the ramp quickly descended. As soon as it was all the way down Mihoshi and Kiyone made their way up it.

It only took a few seconds to get to the top. Looking back at Heero and the others, Mihoshi gave them one last smile and wave before stepping inside and shutting the hatch behind her.

"You remember how to find your way around _Yagami_ , right?" said Kiyone as the two of them headed for the cockpit.

Mihoshi nodded. "Yup!"

It had been a while since Mihoshi had been aboard the _Yagami_ , but since she'd been assigned to the ship along with Kiyone after graduating from the academy it was pretty much a second home to her. If there was one place in the galaxy Mihoshi could navigate with absolute certainty, it was the _Yagami_.

It didn't take long for the two of them to make it to the cockpit. Mihoshi instinctively went over to the copilot's seat while Kiyone settled in at her station. The chair still fit her like a glove despite her absence; it was good to be back.

"All right," said Kiyone, "Let's bring her up to full power!"

"You got it!" replied Mihoshi, her fingers already dancing across the control panels.

The data displays came to life all around them, bathing Mihoshi in a familiar array of light. Her eyes quickly zoomed in on one particular flashing point of light.

"Hey," she said, "It looks like we missed a message from HQ."

Kiyone nodded. "You're right. Let's see what the brass wants."

A second later Mihoshi saw the grizzled face of her and Kiyone's immediate superior, Chief Muraka. It looked like he hadn't changed a bit, although Mihoshi reflected that she hadn't really been gone _that_ long.

His gruff voice came over the speaker as the recorded message began to play. "Detective Makibi, I've reviewed your report. First of all, I'd like to offer you my congratulations on the successful finding of your partner. We're all relieved to hear that Detective Kuramitsu is alive and well. Your personal file has already been updated to reflect this successful search and rescue mission."

Kiyone smiled. "Seems a bit premature since we haven't actually made it back to HQ yet, but I'll take it!"

"I also read your mention of the brief delay in your return home due to interactions with a local law enforcement agent," the Chief continued, "As long as your actions are within protocol, HQ has no problem with you cooperating with local authorities in this matter."

"You told him about Heero!" said Mihoshi, grinning.

"Well," Kiyone replied, "it was kind of hard not to. Don't worry; I left out the part where we had to fight him."

"You're the best, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi, relieved to hear that the events of the day before wouldn't be getting them in trouble with their superiors.

"I'm sure that you're anxious to return to base," said Muraka, "However, I'm afraid that will have to wait for a while; I have new orders to pass down to you, courtesy of the top brass."

"New orders already?" said Kiyone, raising an eyebrow, "That seems a bit quick…"

"Given that we now have both Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami of the Empire of Jurai residing on the planet that you found Mihoshi on," said the Chief, "it would not be prudent for the Galaxy Police to leave them unguarded. I know that your report said that the guardian entities Azaka and Kamidake are with them along with the local law enforcement officer that you cooperated with, but I'm afraid that's not good enough for the top brass. We would like to make sure that both princesses are kept safe, which is why you will not be returning to Headquarters."

Mihoshi's eyes widened and her heart started hammering in her chest. Was the Chief actually saying what she thought he was?

Kiyone's eyes widened as well, but unlike Mihoshi she did not appear to be excited. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"No," she said softly, "Oh, _please_ don't tell me…"

"Therefore," said Muraka, "you are being reassigned. For the time being, you are both hereby designated as Resident Officers for the star system that you found Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami in. Your primary mission is to keep the two of them safe until their eventual return to the Empire."

Mihoshi was absolutely beaming now. "Did you hear that, Kiyone? We get to stay!"

Kiyone shook her head, her face paling. "This can't be happening!"

"In addition to those duties," the Chief continued, "you will also be assigned to undertake regular sweeps of the system. If there are any ships in distress within that system, Headquarters expects you to render aid and keep them out of sight of the local inhabitants. You will also receive notifications of any criminals that attempt to flee through that system or seek to hide out in it. Should such a situation arise, you will apprehend them and hold them until another Galaxy Police vessel can arrive to transport them out of the system."

"Sounds like we'll be busy!" said Mihoshi cheerfully.

Kiyone slumped down in her chair. "This system's a dead end. They just shot my career down a black hole!"

"If you have any questions concerning your new assignment, please feel free to contact Headquarters," said Muraka, "However, any requests at a transfer will be denied. This is your posting until further notice, and the top brass expects you to follow these orders to the letter. That is all. Headquarters, out."

The Chief disappeared from the screen, and Mihoshi couldn't stop smiling as she looked out the cockpit window down at Heero and the others. There they were, waiting on the ship's departure, and they had no idea that now _Yagami_ didn't have to leave at all. Mihoshi couldn't wait to give them the good news.

"Come on!" she said, standing up, "Let's go tell the others that we get to stay, Kiyone!"

"You do it," said Kiyone, looking dejectedly at the now black screen, "I'll be out in a little bit."

Mihoshi couldn't see why her partner was so bummed about their new assignment. This was perfect; they'd get to keep staying with their new friends, only now it was an official mission. Kiyone just hadn't been around Heero and the others long enough to realize how much fun it would be to stay with them. Mihoshi was certain that she could change her partner's mind eventually.

 _Guess what, Heero?_ , she thought as she rushed towards the exit hatch, _I get to stay with you longer, and Kiyone will be with us to! This is going to be so much fun!_

….

Sally sighed. "Well… I did not see that one coming."

"Neither did I," said Heero as he took a sip of his tea.

They were back in the living room along with the others. Mihoshi had given them the news regarding the reassignment orders she and her partner had been given, and then they'd all gone back inside to try and figure out what to do about it. Sasami had made them a fresh pot of tea, but Heero could barely taste it since his mind was so focused on this new situation.

"Well, I suppose it makes sense," said Ayeka, "The Galaxy Police does work closely with the Empire of Jurai. I'm sure the leaders of that organization wish to ensure the safety of Sasami and myself so as to avoid incurring father's ire."

"Great," Ryoko grumbled, "Just when I thought I'd be rid of at least one of you…"

"Quite the interesting development," said Washu.

"Do we have enough room for Kiyone here?" asked Sasami.

Heero nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. She can share Mihoshi's room. That's okay with you, right, Kiyone?"

Kiyone nodded absently. "Sure."

"Housing's not really the issue at this point," said Sally, "It's visibility; that cruiser sticks out like a sore thumb, to put it mildly. Sure, this area's out of the way, but not _that_ far. Someone outside this circle's going to notice it sooner or later."

Heero nodded. He'd been thinking along the same lines. Kiyone's cruiser _did_ present a considerable hurdle, but Heero thought he _might_ have a solution to that problem. It all depended on how cooperative another one of his guests was feeling.

"Washu," he said, "You told me once that you'd be willing to do some personal work for me. Is that offer still on the table?"

Washu grinned. "Anything for you, handsome. Let me guess; you want a way to conceal the _Yagami_ while she's parked here, right?"

"Is that something that you can pull off?" Heero asked.

Washu chuckled. "Please; I could do that in my sleep. Of course, I do have one condition."

Heero sighed. "What's that?"

Washu gave him a faux-innocent smile. "Say please… and call me Little Washu!"

Sally nearly choked on her tea, and Heero had the feeling that she was trying _very_ hard not to laugh. The last thing Heero wanted to do was acquiesce to Washu's condition in front of his coworker, but right now his options were rather limited.

Swallowing his pride, he looked at Washu and bowed his head. "Very well. Please come up with a device that will conceal the _Yagami_ while it's here… Little Washu."

He tried to ignore Sally's failure to suppress a chuckle while Washu kissed him on the cheek. "Aw, you're just so damn cute when you say that! All right, Heero; one _Yagami_ -custom cloaking device coming right up!"

"Hold on a second!" cried Kiyone, "Cloaking technology is restricted! Only select Juraian military craft and a few Galaxy Police ships are permitted to have cloaking devices! Mihoshi and I don't have the necessary permits for installing technology like that on _Yagami_ , and its power core isn't strong enough for it anyway!"

"You let me worry about the power core," said Washu, "and as for the permits, don't sweat it; I'll install the device so that an inspection crew won't be able to find it."

"All right!" cheered Mihoshi, "We're gonna get a stealth ship, Kiyone!"

Kiyone sighed. "I don't believe this… how many regulations can we possibly break in one day?"

"When can you start?" asked Heero.

"Tonight," Washu replied, "It'll definitely be an all night job, though, and I'm gonna need full access to the ship."

"You'll have it," said Kiyone, looking out the window at her cruiser, "I still can't believe that I'm actually agreeing to this…"

"Hey!" said Ryoko, "Why does she get special treatment? Washu, do something like that for Ryo-Ohki!"

Washu shook her head. "Can't do it."

Ryoko folded her arms indignantly. "That's a load of crap!"

"No, it's the truth," said Washu, "I really can't do it."

"If you don't mind me asking," said Ayeka curiously, "why not?"

Heero already had the answer. "It's because Ryo-Ohki's alive."

Washu smiled. " _Very_ good, Heero. Brains along with those moves and good looks of yours… I knew there was a reason why I liked you!"

"Why does Ryo-Ohki being alive mean that you can't make her invisible?" asked Sasami.

"Because Ryo-Ohki's not a machine," said Washu, "With _Yagami_ , all I have to do is replace and modify some part. It's pretty simple stuff, really. However, Ryo-Ohki's not like a normal spaceship. She doesn't have interchangeable parts or anything like that. I can't just remove, replace, or modify her organs or tissue at will. Ryo-Ohki's an incredibly complex life form, Sasami. I may be a genius, but even my talents have their limits."

Ryoko chuckled. "I never thought I'd hear _you_ admit something like that."

Washu smirked. "Only an idiot refuses to recognize their limitations. Besides, for a genius like me, limitations are simply new obstacles to overcome through the awesome power of science!"

Like clockwork, the two mini Washu cheerleader robots that Heero had seen before popped up on her shoulder.

"The power of your science is glorious, Washu!" cried the one on the left.

"You're the greatest scientific genius in the universe!" yelled the one on the right.

"That's right!" said Washu with a triumphant grin.

Sally shook her head and chuckled. "I swear, sometimes I'm amazed that you stay sane with some of the guests you have, Heero."

"Enough to give me a bonus?" he replied dryly.

"Don't push your luck," said Sally.

"Uhm, Heero? Miss Sally?" said Mihoshi, "Is it okay if I help Kiyone get her stuff moved in here?"

Sally nodded. "Go ahead, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi smiled. "Great! Come on, Kiyone!"

Kiyone sighed. "Right behind you."

The two of them headed out the front door, and Sally smiled as they left. "Poor Kiyone… she doesn't seem particularly thrilled about her new assignment."

"She's not the only one," Ryoko grumbled, "The last thing we need is another cop around here."

"Oh?" said Sally, raising an eyebrow, "And why would that be, Ryoko? Something you want to share with me?"

"No, not really," Ryoko quipped.

"She'll be fine," said Washu, "She's had to put up with Mihoshi as a partner, right? She'll settle in soon enough."

"I hope she likes my cooking," said Sasami.

Ayeka smiled at her younger sister. "I'm sure she will, Sasami. After all, Sir Heero's been a superb culinary mentor to you."

Sasami nodded and grinned at Heero. "You bet he has!"

Heero had to resist the urge to chuckle. He'd never imagined himself being in the role of teaching someone how to cook before. Still, he couldn't deny that he was enjoying his ongoing tutoring of Sasami in the art of preparing Earth dishes, and he had no doubt that her cooking skills would far surpass his own before too long; the sweet and gentle royal certainly had a knack for it.

"So," he said, turning to Sally, "how much longer will you be staying?"

"Why?" said Sally with a smirk, "Eager to get rid of me, Heero?"

"Just wondering if I'm going to have an extra mouth to feed tonight," he replied.

Sally shook her head. "No need to worry about that. I'll be heading out pretty soon."

"You don't have to," said Sasami cheerfully, "I wouldn't mind cooking for you!"

Sally smiled. "I appreciate that, but I'm fine."

"Pardon me, Lady Sally," Ayeka chimed in, "but will Director Une really be okay with this? I'm not just referring to Detective Makibi staying here; Sasami and I remain here as well, after all."

Sally nodded. "She'll be fine. As long as Heero's keeping an eye on you two I don't think she'll worry too much about it. Just try to behave for him, okay? I think he's got enough on his plate as it is."

Ayeka smiled. "Oh, absolutely! I promise that I will do all that I can to avoid causing trouble for Sir Heero!"

"We'll be good!" chirped Sasami.

"No incidents shall arise because of us," said Azaka.

"Of that, we can assure you," said Kamidake.

"I suppose that's all that I can ask for," said Heero.

Sally chuckled. "Yes, I suppose so."

….

Kiyone sighed as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She still couldn't believe that this was the situation that she found herself in now; stationed on a remote planet with no chance whatsoever of transfer. It felt like a prison sentence that she had done nothing to earn and yet had no power to appeal.

 _Damn it_ , she thought, _I should've seen this coming. As soon as I reported back that I'd found Mihoshi I'm sure the Chief and the others started thinking of ways to keep either of us from returning to Headquarters. It's not fair!_

"Kiyone!" called Mihoshi, "Are you almost done in there?"

"Yes," she replied absently.

Actually, she was done. She'd taken a shower and was now in the tank-top and shorts that she normally slept in, she'd brushed her teeth, and was just about as cleaned up as she could get. She was ready for bed, but wanted to savor the precious solitude given to her by the bathroom for just a few more seconds.

All things considered, the day had actually gone by pretty fast. Before Kiyone had known it Sally was heading out and Sasami and Heero were serving up dinner. Kiyone might've been down in the dumps with regards to her new assignment, but even in her gloom she still had to appreciate the cooking of her new host.

 _If I have to be stuck here_ , she mused, _I might as well take advantage of the food. Heero's quite the cook. Never would've expected a guy like him to have that kind of talent…_

As strange as it was, she did find a small smile creeping onto her face at the thought of the young man that she'd tangled with yesterday. It was hard to imagine the last time she'd met a guy like him. He was skilled in a fight, calm under pressure, considerably more cunning than she'd expect of an inhabitant of such a backwater planet, and a surprisingly gracious host. He seemed to be a bit aloof and detached at times, or at least withdrawn, but those were faults that Kiyone was more than willing to forgive.

The fact that he was rather handsome certainly didn't hurt matters either.

Yes, all things considered, her new posting could definitely be worse. She had no idea when she might get the chance to go back to Headquarters and the Core Systems where the real action and promotional opportunities were, but for right now she saw no harm in treating her current assignment as something akin to a vacation. Sure, the new orders for her and Mihoshi had made it clear that they would be expected to carry out normal system patrol duties in addition to acting as protection for Ayeka and Sasami, but out in the ass end of the Outland Sector Kiyone wasn't really expecting much activity. The fact that a planet as out of the way as Earth had become an impromptu residence for a notorious space pirate, two royals and their guardians, a legendary mad scientist, and now not one but two officers of the Galaxy Police was a freak coincidence of astronomical proportions, but Kiyone was sure that the normal laws of probability would have to reassert themselves eventually.

At least, she _hoped_ that they would.

"Come on, Kiyone!" called Mihoshi, "It's time for bed!"

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "All right, I'm coming!"

Kiyone knew that her partner wasn't acting this way out of some sense of responsibility or maturity. The much more likely explanation was that she simply viewed the two of them sharing a room in this house as something exciting and fun. No doubt she would want to chat and swap stories as soon as they turned the lights out, whispering and gossiping like a pair of schoolgirls.

 _Like back in our academy days_ , she thought with a strange sense of wistfulness, _I guess that won't be too bad…_

Leaving the bathroom and heading for the bedroom, Kiyone was not surprised in the least to see Mihoshi already laying on her bedroll in her pajamas. She smiled as Kiyone shut the door behind her.

"Isn't this great?" she said as Kiyone turned off the light, "Staying here is so much more comfortable than being stuck on the _Yagami_ all the time, right?"

Kiyone nodded. "Well, it's certainly nice out here. I guess I could use some time in the country; it's not like we'll be patrolling all day and night in this star system, after all."

"Yup!" Mihoshi chirped, "It's nice and quiet out here."

"I just hope it stays that way," said Kiyone as she lay down, "The last thing I want is the brass chewing us out if anything happens to Ayeka and Sasami."

"They'll be fine," said Mihoshi, "They've got us here, and Ayeka's pretty strong too. Plus Azaka and Kamidake are protecting them too."

 _For all the good they did yesterday_ , she thought dryly, _I still can't believe Heero shot them down like that. If anyone else figures out that trick then the Royal Family is going to have to commission new guardians._

"Hey, Kiyone?" said Mihoshi.

"What's up?" she asked.

Mihoshi smiled, and Kiyone could've sworn that she saw a hint of red in her partner's face. "So… what do you think of Heero?"

Kiyone was a bit taken aback. _That_ had certainly come out of nowhere. After the events of the past forty-eight hours it was hard to really put her feelings about the young man into words.

"Well," she said, "he… he seems like a decent guy. He's got a really strong punch, I know that for sure."

"I'm sorry about that," said Mihoshi, "I didn't want you to get into a fight with him on your first meeting."

Kiyone shook her head and smiled. "It's all right. Besides, we patched things up, so it won't happen again."

"That's good," said Mihoshi, "He's actually a really nice guy once you get to know him."

Kiyone smiled. "I'm sure he is."

Mihoshi yawned. "I'm sleepy! Goodnight, Kiyone."

Kiyone nodded. "Goodnight, Mihoshi."

Her partner rolled onto her side, and Kiyone could've sworn that only a few seconds had passed before she started snoring. Kiyone shook her head; how her partner was capable of falling asleep so quickly was beyond her.

 _It really is just like old times_ , she thought, _Well, I guess I'll just have to deal with that._

….

 **October 25** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"So," said Katsuhito in between the loud 'cracks' of colliding _bokken_ , "how is your newest houseguest settling in?"

"So far, so good," Heero replied as he blocked the old man's latest attack.

Katsuhito chuckled as he pressed his assault. "Well, I'm glad to hear it. I must say, you're playing host to quite the lively group of ladies, young man."

Heero nodded, unable to suppress a smirk as he defended himself. "I can't argue with that."

All things considered, it really hadn't taken Kiyone too long to settle in with Heero and the others. True to her word, Washu had completed the cloaking device for _Yagami_ and had installed it on the ship. Now Kiyone could conceal her ship while it was parked by the house and while she was taking off and landing. The device wasn't perfect; due to the power limitations of _Yagami_ 's core it could only be kept on for prolonged periods of time if the rest of the ship's systems were inactive. While _Yagami_ was actually in flight the cloaking device could only remain activated long enough for it to leave or reenter the atmosphere, otherwise it would burn out. That was fine as far as Heero was concerned, though; all he really needed was for the ship to remain concealed while it was on Earth, and Washu's device accomplished that.

He'd been a little concerned when Katsuhito had shown up to the house the day after Sally had left. He had just been paying a friendly visit and inquiring when Heero might want to spar with him again, but Heero had still been worried about how Kiyone might react to this priest that she did not know at all. Fortunately she'd been very calm and relaxed about the whole thing, and she'd seemed to actually get along pretty well with Katsuhito. That had reassured Heero enough that he'd been willing to bring her along with the rest of the girls up to the shrine the following day to visit the priest and share lunch with him.

Once he was convinced that Kiyone wouldn't have any trouble with residing with the others, Heero had decided to move back to what had become his normal routine. That included, among other things, taking some time for himself and getting some space from the house and his lovely guests. The best way to do that was a walk up the long series of stairs to the Shinto shrine, and since he'd actually enjoyed his first sparring match with the local priest he'd taken to engaging in duels with the old man whenever he visited. Katsuhito was always a ready and willing sparring partner, and a _very_ formidable one.

So formidable, in fact, that Heero had yet to actually land a hit on him in _any_ of their matches.

"You've gotten better," said the old man as Heero finally managed to counter and go on the offensive.

"Thanks," he replied as he lashed out with a series of diagonal strikes.

Trying to keep up the pressure, Heero increased his pace and started adding a few low kicks into the rotation. The effort did seem to keep the priest on the defensive, but Heero wouldn't kid himself; the old man was way too calm for the Gundam pilot to assume that he had him 'on the ropes', as it were.

"When will you be bringing those lovely ladies over here again?" asked Katsuhito as he continued to deflect Heero's attacks.

"Whenever they feel like it," said Heero as he shifted to a series of hard vertical strikes.

"Well, if they do, I'm always happy to make a meal for them," said the shrine keeper with a smile as he fended off Heero's blows, "It's always nice to have such pretty women for company."

"I'm sure it is," Heero replied.

He lunged forward, trying to take the old man off guard with a swift thrust towards his stomach. Unfortunately, Katsuhito was ready for him. He smoothly parried the thrust and turned Heero's momentum against him, sending him forward. With a fluid turn he brought his wooden sword around and smacked Heero with it on the shoulder.

"Match," said the priest.

Heero nodded. "Nice move. I thought I might've had you that time."

Katsuhito smirked. "You were close, but you overextended yourself again. You need to watch out for that."

"I will," said Heero as he passed his sword over to the old man, "Same time tomorrow?"

The priest nodded. "Sure, but must you really leave so soon? I've got enough left in me for another round at least, and I'm sure you do as well."

"I'm afraid I have to," Heero replied, "Sasami should have lunch prepared soon, and she'll worry if I'm late."

Katsuhito chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure she will, as will the rest of your guests. Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then, Heero. Feel free to bring those lively young ladies by as well."

"If they're up for it," said Heero as he turned around and headed for the stairs.

He hadn't exactly lied; Sasami had volunteered to make lunch today, and Heero was sure that she would indeed have it ready soon. However, that wasn't the real reason why he was leaving. Before Heero had even started his match with the old man he had felt the same sensation he'd been feeling on and off for the past three days now.

He was being watched.

He didn't know who his new observer was. It was only his highly developed instincts that had attuned him to their covert observation of him. As he started down the stairs his eyes darted this way and that, and his ears listened for the slightest hint of noise that was out of place in this environment. It was just a hunch, but he felt like this mysterious spy was closer now than they had been over the last few days.

When he got about halfway down the stairs and was at one of the rest areas he stopped and looked to his right at the tree line. "I know you're there. How long are you going to stay in the shadows?"

He heard a chuckle, and the voice that followed was smooth, rich, and unmistakably female. "My, my… you're a sharp one, aren't you?"

"As sharp as I have to be," said Heero, his right hand reaching inside his jacket and hovering over his pistol, "Are you going to come to me, or should I come to you?"

"Well, I'm always up for a game of hide and seek," the voice replied, "but seeing as I'm a visitor to your planet, I suppose it's only proper that I make the first move."

"I usually get advance notice when we have visitors from outside our star system," said Heero, now picking up a distinct shadow just beyond the trees, "How did you make it down here undetected?"

"It wasn't hard," the mystery woman replied, her voice much closer now, "Your planet's orbital observation network is rather lacking. No offense, but I could've gotten through blindfolded without being spotted."

"None taken," said Heero as the stranger finally stepped into view.

Her upper body was shrouded in a black cloak with a golden clasp, but Heero could tell just from her legs that he was looking at a very athletic woman. The cloak was pulled up over her head, but her face was visible, and the Preventers operative had to admit that it was rather striking. A confident smirk was on her light-skinned face, and her auburn eyes had a provocative spark in them. There was a black claw-like marking that ran from her left cheek down to at least her neck, and Heero couldn't tell if it was a tattoo or a natural part of her skin. What little of her hair that he could see appeared to be light blue, and past that he could barely make out her slightly pointed ears.

She met his gaze, evaluating him as he evaluated her. Neither of them blinked, and while the impromptu staring contest lasted only a few moments it felt like much longer.

"You won't need your gun," she said with a nod, "I'm not here for a fight. Not with you, at least."

"I'll be the judge of that," said Heero, keeping his right hand in his jacket and on the grip of his sidearm.

She smiled. "A cautious one, aren't you? I'm a bit surprised, given how you fought with the old man earlier; your moves got pretty bold towards the end of your mach. A swordsman's style usually says something about their personality, but I must say that I still haven't quite pinned yours down, and I've had the past three days to observe you."

"I try to keep people guessing," Heero quipped.

The woman chuckled. "Indeed. You're interesting for a local boy from this far out, I'll give you that."

"Enough word games," said Heero curtly, "Who are you?"

"The name's Nagi," she replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Heero Yuy."

"How do you know my name?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

She reached into her cloak, and for a moment the Gundam pilot thought she was going to draw a weapon. Instead she pulled out what appeared to be a very small moth-like creature, but on closer inspection Heero realized that it was mechanical.

"Devaliar Security's Mk. III Eye-Fly," she replied, "The name could use some work, but the surveillance tech jammed inside this little bugger's what really counts. Top of the line, and worth every credit of the investment. I've been watching you with more than just _my_ eyes, Heero… and listening with more than just _my_ ears."

As he listened to the woman speak, Heero realized that he had heard her name before. "You're a bounty hunter, aren't you?"

Nagi's eyes widened ever so slightly. "How do you… never mind. Ryoko told you, didn't she?"

"Yes," said Heero.

She smirked. "Interesting… so, did she tell you why someone like me might be hunting her?"

"I can take a few guesses," said Heero dryly.

"You've got nothing to gain by protecting her," said Nagi, "and I'm not here to fight you. I've chased more bounties than I can count from one end of this galaxy to the other, and Ryoko's the only one to ever elude me. I'm here to fight her and apprehend her."

"That's not going to happen," said Heero firmly.

Nagi raised an eyebrow. "Why? Do you mean to protect her from me?"

"And what if I do?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing.

"Well," she said, "for starters, you'd be protecting a known fugitive. That would make you an accomplice, and while there might not be a bounty on _your_ head yet, I guarantee that would change once I hauled Ryoko in and told the Galaxy Police about you."

"You're getting ahead of yourself," said Heero, "First you have to bring her in, remember? Your success isn't guaranteed."

Nagi chuckled. "Indeed, but it won't be because of you. Ryoko's powerful, which is why she's been able to elude me for so long. It's part of why I want to be the one to bring her in. The money's nice, but she's also just the kind of foe that I look for in this line of work. I _will_ fight her, one way or the other. The Galaxy Police might not like bounty hunters such as myself fighting locals on frontier worlds like this, but if I told them that you were impeding my pursuit of the infamous space pirate Ryoko they wouldn't bat an eye at me attacking you."

"I'm sure they wouldn't," Heero replied, "but if that's a threat then I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."

Nagi smiled. "You've got courage, I'll give you that much. You really should reconsider, though. There's nothing in this for you."

"It doesn't matter," said Heero firmly, "Ryoko is under my observational custody. My mission is to look after her, and I'm going to do exactly that."

Nagi shook her head. "I know about your Preventers organization thanks to my bug. I don't think that they'd want you to protect Ryoko if they knew the full extent of her criminal record."

"Well, they don't know it," said Heero, "which means my mission remains unchanged."

The bounty hunter's eyes narrowed. "You're outmatched, kid. You might be armed, but I guarantee that whatever weapons you have will do no good against me."

"Care to find out?" said Heero.

Nagi sighed. "If you insist."

She reached inside her cloak. Heero swiftly drew his pistol, while at the same time Nagi pulled out what appeared to be a golden rapier. It was a surprisingly elegant weapon for a bounty hunter, and Heero would've dismissed it as archaic if it were it not for the glowing crimson sphere built into the hilt. It appeared to be a power source of some kind, and the tip of the weapon sparked with violet energy.

"Last chance," she said, a chill creeping into her voice, "Back down, boy."

"After you," he shot back.

Nagi shook her head. "I never stop my hunt. If you get in my way, then you become my prey, and I'll treat you accordingly!"

Acting on nothing more than instinct, Heero rolled to the right, and not a moment too soon. A violet bolt of energy flew from the tip of the rapier, leaving a black scorch mark on the cobblestones where he'd been standing just a split second earlier; apparently this woman's 'sword' doubled as a ranged weapon.

Bringing his gun to bear as he came up on his feet, he squeezed off a round, aiming for her right shoulder. There was a brief flash of blue energy as his bullet was stopped in midair.

"I told you," said Nagi, "Your weapon's no good against me."

She shifted her cloak, revealing a dark blue and black skintight bodysuit that left little to the imagination. A red belt wrapped around her waist, and it had a golden buckle with a blinking red light.

"Loronai Defense Industry's J-200 Personal Shield Generator," she said with a smile, "Good for energy or projectile weapons. Primitive bullets don't have the power to punch through this, kid. Why don't you just throw in the towel? You'll save yourself a world of hurt."

"Sorry," said Heero, "but I don't give up that easily."

He lunged forward, taking a couple shots as he charged. Just like before, the bullets were stopped by the energy shield, but Heero wasn't counting on them hitting her anyway. Swiftly closing the distance, he flipped the gun in his hand and lashed out, aiming to pistol whip her right in the head.

She dodged him, but it was a near thing, and the way her eyes widened ever so slightly told Heero all he needed to know.

 _Her shield may block bullets and other projectiles_ , he thought, _but it looks like it doesn't activate to fend off melee attacks._

If he'd taken her by surprise it was only for a moment. The bounty hunter quickly countered by lashing out with her rapier. Heero ducked the attack, but it was by a very narrow margin, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the slender sword passed over his head trailing violet sparks.

In a single fluid motion he drew his knife with his left hand and struck back. This time Nagi blocked the attack with her blade, and violet sparks coursed through the sword and into Heero's blade. His hand was jolted by electricity, but he managed to keep from dropping the knife.

The bounty hunter smiled. "You're tougher than you look. You might actually make this fun."

"I'll do more than that," he growled.

Grimacing as shocks continued to course through his left hand, he swung with his right, once again aiming to club her over the head with his sidearm. She swiftly intercepted the blow with her free hand before making a sweeping kick and knocking him off his feet. His back hit the ground, but it was only for a second; he quickly rolled to the left and regained his feet.

"You're mine!" she declared as she lunged forward.

Heero dived to the right, barely avoiding the tip of the saber. Like a heat seeking missile, Nagi stayed right with him. He ducked under the blade and lunged forward with his knife, but she caught his arm before bringing her rapier down on it. This time the shock was severe enough that Heero couldn't help but drop the knife, and it was only by braking free of her grip and backing off that he was able to avoid taking a worse hit.

 _Damn it_ , he thought, _I can barely feel my left arm now! That sword of hers is no joke._

Taking her head on like this was a losing proposition. It was time to change tactics. He made a break for the tree line, firing a couple shots to distract her as he did so.

He heard Nagi chuckle as he leapt into the brush. "A chase, huh? Well, I'm game!"

Heero was actually relieved to hear that. He moved swiftly though the bushes and trees, but he wasn't actually retreating. Moving into the cover provided by the mountain woods would give him a better shot at ambushing Nagi and taking her down. At this point, he figured that that was the only way he'd be able to beat her.

Sure enough, he could hear her rushing through the woods, hot on his heels. She seemed to be matching his pace, and it didn't sound like she was breathing hard either. If nothing else, this particular bounty hunter was definitely in shape. Trying to wear her out would be a gamble; Heero's best bet was to set up a surprise attack from the cover of the trees and take Nagi down quickly.

 _Wish I had a few flash-bang grenades_ , he thought, _I could definitely use those right about now. I guess I'll have to find another way to blindside her._

He broke to the right and hid behind a tree. Quickly scanning the ground, he spotted a small stone and picked it up. Peeking around the tree trunk, he saw the bounty hunter on the move. She was heading in his general direction but did not appear to know his exact location. Heero doubted he'd be able to stay hidden for long; he had to act fast.

Taking a moment to judge the distance between them, Heero then threw his rock. Not at Nagi; as a projectile it wouldn't do any good against her shield. Instead he threw it a ways off to the left, hoping the noise would distract her.

The rock hit a tree, and he saw Nagi abruptly turn in that direction. Seizing the opportunity, Heero closed the distance. He moved from one tree to the next, trying to strike a balance between minimizing his exposure and approaching her as quickly and quietly as possible. Soon he was just a few meters away from her, crouching behind a cluster of thick bushes.

Nagi had stopped moving. She was crouching as well, scanning all around her for any sign of Heero. The bounty hunter was alert and tense, and Heero knew that she'd be ready to react at the slightest disturbance. He'd have to pick his next move very carefully.

Looking at the ground, Heero found another small rock and picked it up. Moving towards the edge of the bushes, his eyes narrowed as he found a suitable target for his stone. Steadying himself, he threw the rock at a tree a little bit to the right of Nagi. As soon as she moved he would rush forward to tackle her.

At least, that was his plan, but things didn't quite work out that way. The stone hit the tree, and Nagi did move towards it, but the second Heero had broke cover Nagi turned to face him with a triumphant grin on her face. Her saber was at the ready, violet energy sparking all along it, and Heero realized that she'd only been pretending to be distracted by the rock.

A bolt of purple energy flew from the tip of the weapon and hit Heero in the left leg. He stumbled as he lost nearly all feeling in the limb, but Nagi wasn't done with him yet. She pressed a small button built into the hilt of her sword, and a long and flexible strand of violet energy emanated from the end of her slender weapon. The bounty hunter took a swing with her purple whip, and Heero swiftly found himself wrapped up in purple energy… which proceeded to send shocks coursing through his body.

He grimaced against the pain. It actually wasn't too bad compared to some of the hits he'd taken in the past, but the shocks were steady and consistent, and it was becoming quite difficult to stay on his feet. The bounty hunter stepped forward, and the shocks intensified.

"Don't fight it," she said as darkness began to encroach from the edge of his vision, "You're just going to make it worse. It's designed to knock you out, not kill you… but if you keep resisting it, it'll put even more energy into taking you down."

"Damn it," he hissed as he was forced to his knees.

The darkness was growing, but he couldn't bring himself to willing submit to the shocks and lose consciousness. If Nagi wanted to take him down, he'd make her work for every second of it.

She smiled as she knelt down next to him and looked him in the eyes. "Stubborn, aren't you? You've got that much in common with her, at least. I'm starting to see why she likes you. You're more than just a pretty face, young man."

Heero lunged forward, attempting to head-butt her. Nagi slipped to the side with ease, and all he succeeded in doing was falling face first to the forest floor.

He rolled over and saw Nagi leaning down towards him, pulling what looked like an injector out of her cloak. "No choice, then; I'll have to help you along. You're too tough for your own good."

Heero tried to roll away, but Nagi easily stopped him before plunging the needle into his neck. A sense of dizziness and light-headedness swiftly came over him, and the gradually encroaching darkness became a flood.

"Sweet dreams, handsome," was the last thing he heard before he completely blacked out.

….

Ayeka smiled as she savored the taste of the tea. "Even better than before… Sasami, your talents have blossomed wonderfully!"

Her younger sister beamed at her. "Thanks, Ayeka!"

"It's so good!" chirped Mihoshi in between sips.

"Yeah," said Kiyone, her eyes widening slightly, "Sasami, you've really got a knack for this. I'm impressed."

"It's so nice to see Sasami's gifts so appreciated," said Azaka, "Her father and mother would be quite proud."

"If I were capable of crying I would be shedding tears of joy right now!" said Kamidake, "Our dear princess shall no doubt grow up to be a marvelous young woman!"

 _Indeed, she shall_ , thought Ayeka, _Although I do not believe that being gifted in the culinary arts is particularly fitting for a princess. Oh, well… I suppose there's no harm to it, and she certainly does seem to enjoy it._

"Where's Ryoko and Washu?" asked Sasami as she looked around, "I want them to try it too."

"Washu's still in her lab," said Kiyone with a shrug, "and Ryoko's still snoozing. Not much of a surprise, there; she had quite a bit to drink last night."

"But it's nearly lunch time!" cried Mihoshi, "How can Ryoko still be asleep?"

Ayeka shook her head. "That woman… I swear she must be the laziest pirate in the galaxy! How in the name of Tsunami did she acquire such a fearsome reputation with such an awful sleeping habit?"

"You're telling me," said Kiyone as she took another sip of her tea, "She's worse than Mihoshi."

"Hey!" pouted Mihoshi, folding her arms, "I don't sleep in _that_ late! And I get up on time when we have patrol duty!"

"Only after I yell at you and your bedside alarm nearly drives me insane," Kiyone grumbled, "Man, I'm glad we took the day off so I didn't have to put up with that today."

"Is that really all right?" asked Ayeka, "I thought that your superiors ordered you to maintain steady patrols of this system?"

"As part of our duties, yes," Kiyone replied, "but it's not like they ordered us to do it every hour of every day. They understand that we need some downtime, so they gave me the freedom to structure our patrol schedule. Besides, our main mission is to protect you, and since you're not leaving the planet anytime soon there's nothing wrong with us being down here with you instead of flying around the edges of this system."

"And if we were up there all the time, we'd miss Sasami's cooking!" Mihoshi added.

Kiyone smiled. "Yeah, I guess there's that, too."

"It's not just me," said Sasami, "Heero cooks too, remember?"

"Speaking of Heero," said Kiyone, looking around, "Where is he? He can't still be at the shrine sparring with the old man, can he?"

Ayeka had to admit that she was growing a little worried about that. Her host was well aware of when the normally scheduled midday meal was, and Heero had repeatedly proven himself to be a very punctual young man. She knew that he enjoyed his sparring sessions with the shrine keeper, but that had never kept him from returning home on time for lunch, or any other meal for that matter.

"It's all right if he's a little late," said Mihoshi with a smile, "We should let him have his fun!"

"Perhaps," said Ayeka as she looked out the window, "but still… I do hope that he hasn't forgotten the time."

"He'll be back," said Sasami, "You'll see!"

 _It would be nice to have some time with him while Ryoko's still asleep_ , she thought, _If that pirate's going to snooze as late as this, then she can't complain if I take advantage of her sluggishness._

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, and Ayeka saw that she was pawing at Sasami's legs.

Sasami smiled down at the living starship. "That's right, it's your lunchtime too, Ryo-Ohki! I'll be right back!"

She went off to the kitchen and returned a few moments later with a bowl of carrots. She sat them down on the table in front of the couch, and Ryo-Ohki wasted no time in hopping right up onto the tabletop and started to munch away.

Ayeka heard the sliding door start to open, and she turned to face it with a smile. "Oh, Sir Heero…"

But it wasn't her handsome host that came through the door. In fact, she couldn't see anyone at all, at least not right away. Standing up to get a better view, she soon saw who the new arrival was.

Or rather, _what_ it was.

 _I don't believe it_ , she thought, her eyes widening, _Another one? How is this possible?_

Standing in the doorway, looking quite pleased with itself, was a creature that was unmistakably a cabbit. The long ears, the whiskers, the curious combination of rabbit and feline physiology… there was no mistaking what this creature was. That being said, it was not exactly the same as the cabbit that currently shared this residence with her. This particular specimen had white fur and looked like it was just a little bit larger than Ryo-Ohki. Its eyes were red instead of yellow, and it had a golden gem embedded in its forehead.

"What in the…" she said softly.

"What is it?" asked Kiyone as she leaned over to get a better look, "Oh, no way!"

"It's another Ryo-Ohki!" cried Sasami.

"Truly?" asked Azaka.

"How strange," said Kamidake.

"It's so cute!" chirped Mihoshi.

"Meow!" the creature replied in greeting.

Its cry was deeper than Ryo-Ohki's, and while Ayeka had nothing more than that to base her suspicions on, she felt that this particular creature might actually be a male. She watched as it cautiously wandered into the house, scanning its surroundings as it made its way around the couch. Its nose was raised to the air, and from the way it was sniffing Ayeka was sure it had caught the scent of Ryo-Ohki's carrots.

"Where did this thing come from?" asked Kiyone.

"A good question," said Ayeka as she monitored the creature's progress, "Another one of Washu's experiments, perhaps? I recall her saying something about having been the one who created Ryo-Ohki's species in the first place a while back. Perhaps she decided to create a new specimen while she was here?"

"She could've given us a heads up," said Kiyone.

A few seconds later the creature had hopped up onto the table. Ryo-Ohki turned and looked curiously at the newcomer for a moment before giving what Ayeka understood to be the cabbit's equivalent of a smile.

"Meow!" she cried out in greeting, looking quite excited to find another of her kind here.

Unfortunately, this new creature did not seem to return Ryo-Ohki's friendly sentiments. Quite the opposite, in fact. The cabbit tensed up, its hair stood on end, and it bared its fangs and hissed at Ryo-Ohki.

"Uh oh," said Mihoshi, "That doesn't look good!"

"Oh, no!" cried Sasami, "Why's it doing that?"

Ayeka wasn't sure what to do, and from the looks of things none of her companions did either. She watched as Ryo-Ohki took matters into her own hands, or paws… or mouth, in this case. Grabbing a carrot from the bowl, she walked slowly over to the newcomer before setting it down on the table and gently nudging it towards the pale-furred creature.

The new cabbit stopped hissing and leaned forward, taking cautious sniffs as it did so. It then inched towards the carrot and took a small, experimental bite. Its eyes widened, and its demeanor completely changed from agitation to excitement. It then wasted no time in devouring the carrot.

"Well," said Kiyone with a smile, "It seems that did the trick."

"Good job, Ryo-Ohki!" cheered Sasami.

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki cried happily as she grabbed another carrot from the bowl and brought it next to the newcomer before starting to chow down.

"Aw," cooed Mihoshi, "They look so cute together."

It didn't take long for the two cabbits to finish their carrots. Ayeka was a bit nervous about how the newcomer might react now that its tasty distraction was gone, but her fears were soon put to rest when she saw the pale creature gently nudge Ryo-Ohki, and she heard the distinct sound of purring.

"Yay!" cried Sasami, "Now they're friends!"

Ryo-Ohki certainly seemed to share the sentiment. She was purring as well and leaning into her fellow cabbit, and now Ayeka was all but certain that this new creature was indeed a male.

"I still want to know where this thing came from," said Kiyone.

"We should go ask Washu," said Azaka.

"She does seem the most likely person to have an answer for that," said Kamidake.

"All in good time," said Ayeka with a smile, "All in good time."

….

"Ugh, man," groaned Ryoko as she downed a glass of water and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, "Maybe I did drink a little too much last night…"

She wasn't exactly known for her restraint to begin with, and when Kiyone had introduced her and the others to that Galaxy Police drinking game of hers the night before Ryoko had gone all in. It hadn't taken much for her to beat the competition, although much to her disappointment Heero had refrained from taking part; she would've loved the chance to go shot for shot with him. Still, it had amused her to no end to put Mihoshi, Kiyone, and Ayeka in their places; she was the undisputed Queen of the Bottle.

Her lofty title unfortunately had come at a price, and that was in the form of the hangover that she was still nursing. It had definitely receded considerably, but there was still enough of it there that she'd been slower to rise than normal this morning. Still, she was starting to get hungry, and the way her stomach was grumbling suggested that she'd already missed one meal for the day; it would be a shame to sleep through lunch too.

 _I wonder what Heero and Sasami are making today_ , she mused as she adjusted her hair a bit, _I don't really care too much, as long as it's ready soon. I could definitely use a bite to eat._

A few moments later she was heading downstairs, eagerly anticipating seeing Heero and throwing herself at him just to piss off Ayeka. It would be as a good a note as any to start the day on.

However, when she got to the bottom of the stairs and went to the living room, she didn't see Heero. All the women of the household with the exception of Washu were there, along with Azaka and Kamidake, but the young man she'd been looking forward the most to seeing was nowhere to be found. She wondered where he might be, but it was only for a moment; she was quickly distracted by what she saw on the table in front of the couch.

There was Ryo-Ohki next to a bowl of carrots; a common enough sight in this house. However, that wasn't what had her attention. It was the _second_ cabbit that was standing on the table with Ryo-Ohki.

The _white_ cabbit.

There was only _one_ such cabbit that Ryo-Ohki had encountered before, and she knew that she was looking at the exact same one right here and now.

"Ryo-Ohki!" she yelled, "What the hell are you doing with him?"

Ryo-Ohki glanced over at her and bent her head, looking puzzled. The white cabbit ignored her; it was still munching on a carrot.

"Oh, Ryoko!" said Mihoshi with a smile, "You're finally up!"

"Wait, so Ryo-Ohki's new friend is a boy?" said Sasami, "Ryoko, how do you know that?"

"Have you seen this thing before?" asked Kiyone.

Ayeka looked back and forth between the two cabbits and Ryoko. "Is something the matter, Ryoko?"

Ryoko pointed at the table. "You're damn right there is! Ryo-Ohki, don't you remember who that is?"

"Meow," murmured Ryo-Ohki as she put herself between Ryoko and the other cabbit.

 _Damn it_ , thought Ryoko, _she likes him! I really should've seen that coming._

She had more important things to worry about than the feelings of Ryo-Ohki at the moment, though. If this pale cabbit was here, then that meant _she_ was somewhere nearby.

At that moment the closet door by the front entrance opened and Washu stepped out. "Okay, it's lunch time, right? So, what's on the menu, Heero?"

The mad scientist's eyes widened slightly as she entered the living room. "Hey, what did I miss?"

Ryoko pointed at the pale cabbit. "You missed Ken-Ohki, that's what!"

"Ken-Ohki?" said Sasami, "That's his name?"

"Aw, that's cute!" cooed Mihoshi, "It really is a boy version of Ryo-Ohki!"

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "How do you know his name, Ryoko?"

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. "Ryoko, what is going on? Explain yourself!"

"We've run into each other before," said Ryoko as she walked over to the table and glared down at Ken-Ohki, "All right, you damn furball, time to come clean. Where's Nagi?"

The white cabbit looked up and hissed at her. Meanwhile, Ryo-Ohki was trying to stay between the two of them, and her increasingly frantic cries were clearly pleas for peace between the two of them.

Ryoko wasn't having it. "Damn it, Ryo-Ohki, we can't make nice with this guy. You know who his master is!"

"Nagi," said Mihoshi, "Haven't I heard that name before?"

Kiyone sighed. "Of course you have, numbskull. She's a bounty hunter, and one of the best. Everyone in the Galaxy Police is supposed to know who she is!"

"Oh," said Mihoshi, "but… why would she be here?"

"I can imagine a pretty good reason," said Ayeka, smirking as she looked at Ryoko, "Looks like you'll finally answer for your crimes, Ryoko!"

"Shut up!" Ryoko snapped as she looked around, "Damn it, where's Heero when you need him?"

"Good point," said Washu, scanning the room as well, "He really should be back by now."

"Well, he's not," said Kiyone, "which means that we'll have to deal with this situation ourselves."

"What do we do?" asked Sasami.

"I think it's obvious," said Ayeka, glaring at Ryoko, "We let this bounty hunter have her prize!"

Ryoko scowled. "Are you trying to pick a fight, Ayeka?"

"Oh, dear," said Azaka.

"Here we go again," chimed in Kamidake.

"We can't let her take Ryoko!" cried Mihoshi, "She's our friend!"

Ayeka looked at her incredulously. "You're a member of the Galaxy Police, Mihoshi! It is your duty to assist this 'Nagi', wherever she might be, in apprehending such a dangerous fugitive like Ryoko. Justice demands it!"

"Justice my ass!" Ryoko snapped, "You just want to get me away from Heero, you royal brat!"

"Cut it out, you two!" snapped Kiyone, "We don't have time for your bickering!"

"How dare you!" huffed Ayeka, "Miss Kiyone, you should be taking my side in this! You tried to arrest Ryoko when you arrived here, after all. Why shouldn't we let this bounty hunter take her away?"

"Because that's not my call to make," said Kiyone firmly, "It's Heero's. I might not agree with him, but Ryoko's under his observational custody just like you, your sister, and Washu are. Ryoko's Heero's responsibility and I'm not going to interfere with his mission."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Never thought I'd see you take _my_ side."

Kiyone folded her arms. "I'm not. If I had it my way I'd be helping Ayeka turn you over to Nagi. Heero and I came to an agreement about you, though, and I'm going to honor it."

"Speaking of Heero," said Sasami, "we should go look for him. We need his help to figure out what to do!"

Washu nodded. "Sasami's right. He shouldn't be too hard to find; if he's not here then the only other place he could be is still at the shrine with the old man. I'll go get him."

"That won't be necessary," said a new voice as the sliding door opened.

Ryoko whirled around, instantly recognizing that voice. The air around her crackled with crimson sparks, and blood red energy danced in the palms of her hands as she spotted none other than the lady of the hour standing in the doorway.

" _Nagi!_ " she snarled.

The hood of her cloak was down, revealing the face of her rival in all its fierce and steely glory. A dark blue headband helped smooth over her long aqua colored hair, and that cool and confident smile that Ryoko had learned to loath was on her face.

She nodded in greeting. "Long time no see, Ryoko."

" _You_ ," she said with a humph, "How the hell did you find me out here?"

Nagi shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. At last known sighting you were being chased by _Ryu-Oh_ out into this nowhere patch of the Outland Sector. I was hounding another bounty at the time, but once I collared him I headed straight out here. Granted, it took me a bit of time to search the surrounding systems, but process of elimination helped me narrow things down. Besides, Ayeka's hatred of you is common knowledge, and she hasn't been seen in Imperial space in quite some time; I figured that she was still pursuing you out here, so I simply had to be patient and keep up the hunt."

Ryoko scowled. "You always were a persistent bitch."

Nagi chuckled. "Really, Ryoko, must you be like that? It's been quite a long time, after all. I thought you might actually miss me!"

"You're as full of yourself as ever, aren't you?" Ryoko spat.

"Only because I know how much it irritates you," her foe replied.

"Uhm, excuse me," Mihoshi chimed in nervously, "Are… are you really here to take Ryoko away?"

Nagi rolled her eyes. "Why else _would_ I be here, Mihoshi? I thought you were supposed to be a cop; my intentions should be obvious to you."

"Hold on," said Kiyone, her eyes narrowing, "How do you know her name?"

"The same way I know your name, Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi," Nagi replied casually, "I've been watching you all for the past three days."

"Three days?" said Ayeka, her eyes widening.

Washu chuckled. "And I never picked up on it, even with all the little add-ons I've made to this place… I'm impressed."

"Well I'm not!" snapped Ryoko, "That's just creepy!"

"The diligent hunter takes their time to study their prey and their surroundings," said Nagi, "It's what separates the best from the rest."

"So you know all about us then?" asked Sasami.

Nagi shrugged. "I know what I need to. That's enough."

"A rather chilling individual, isn't she?" said Azaka.

"She doesn't seem to be one for pleasant conversation," chirped Kamidake.

"You can save your 'pleasant conversation' for the palace, you stacks of kindling," Nagi scoffed, "The only thing that matters to bounty hunters is the ability to produce results."

"Well, if 'results' in this case happens to mean you dragging Ryoko off to the cell that she deserves, I certainly see no problem with it," said Ayeka.

"Hey," said Kiyone, "did you forget about Heero, Ayeka? He's probably not going to like that!"

"He could always change his mind," Ayeka replied, "Quite frankly it would be in his best interest to do so."

"He won't be changing his mind," said Nagi.

"How do you know that?" asked Mihoshi.

Nagi chuckled. "He made his feelings on the matter quite clear earlier."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed as a quiet alarm bell went off in her mind. Heero's absence, Nagi's arrival, and the way she was talking now… something was _very_ wrong.

"What the hell did you do, Nagi?" she growled.

Nagi smirked. "Nothing permanent. However, I'm afraid your new man's not going to be able to help you out of this jam."

Ayeka gasped. "Oh, no! Sir Heero!"

"Where is he?" snapped Ryoko, "I swear, if you hurt him…"

"He's a little bruised," said Nagi, "but it's nothing serious."

"Take us to him," said Kiyone, her hand hovering over her pistol, "Now."

Nagi shrugged. "All right. He's right outside. Ken-Ohki, come!"

The bounty hunter turned around and headed out the door, with her cabbit right behind her. Ryoko and the others were hot on her heels, and the group gave a collective gasp when they got outside.

"Heero!" she cried.

He was lying unconscious on the grass. The young man didn't appear to be severely hurt, but Ryoko's blood started boiling when she saw the stun-cuffs that bound his wrists and the shackles secured to his legs. A shock collar was around his neck; he'd be in for a rude surprise if he woke up and tried to fight his bindings.

"See?" said Nagi, "Like I told you, nothing serious."

"Like hell!" Ryoko snarled.

She immediately rushed towards Heero, only to be interrupted by a bolt of violet energy hitting the ground in front of her. She whirled around and glared at the source.

"Let him go!" she yelled at her rival, "He's got nothing to do with the score between us!"

"I disagree," Nagi replied, "and so did he. You should be proud of your lover boy here, Ryoko. He actually put up a pretty decent fight before I took him down. Not bad for a backwater local. I can see why you like him; he's definitely got spirit, and he's not bad in a scuffle."

"You've gone too far, Nagi!" snapped Kiyone, stepping forward, "Article Five, Section Two of the regulations governing bounty hunters licensed by the Galaxy Police and the Empire of Jurai is quite clear; a hunter cannot attack and detain persons who do not have official bounties on their heads. Doing so is grounds for the suspension of your Hunter's License at the very least!"

Nagi waved her finger at Kiyone like a teacher taking a pupil to task. "Ah, but you forgot the exception clause, Detective; a hunter _can_ engage someone without a bounty on their head if they pose an imminent threat to the hunter and others."

"How could Sir Heero possibly pose a threat to you?" asked Ayeka indignantly, "As a bounty hunter with a galactic reputation I'm sure that whatever weapons and devices you carry are sufficient to ward off the admittedly primitive armaments that Sir Heero has at his disposal, evidenced by the fact that you have collared him like a common criminal!"

"You mean this?" asked Nagi as she pulled Heero's pistol from her cloak, "I agree that it's primitive, but the level of technological advancement doesn't matter. He drew his firearm and aimed it at me, so I was well within my rights to engage him. If anything, I think you should be praising me for the restraint I showed in dealing with him."

"Even so," said Kiyone, "I will have to insist that you release him immediately!"

"Yeah!" chirped Mihoshi, "Let Heero go!"

Nagi chuckled. "And if I refuse? Will the two of you try to arrest me for collaring him? With his actions he could legally be considered as Ryoko's accomplice. At the very least, he's sheltering a high profile fugitive. Normally his living on a backwater world like this would be a permissible defense in court since they would take it to be a sign of forgivable ignorance, but he indicated to me that he's aware of why someone like me would hunt Ryoko, so that defense is now forfeit."

"Perhaps," said Kiyone, "but he was acting in accordance with his own mission parameters as defined by the organization that he works for, which on this planet is a lawful governmental force."

Nagi shook her head. "I highly doubt that the Galaxy Police would care about whatever mission Heero had here. In their eyes he'd been seen as a criminal for knowingly harboring Ryoko."

"That doesn't matter," said Mihoshi, "because no official arrest warrant has been issued for Heero! You have to release him!"

"She's right," said Kiyone, "You cannot continue to lawfully detain Heero, Nagi. Even if you fought and subdued him in self-defense, continuing to hold him like this will put you in violation of the terms of your Hunter's License. If you wish to avoid legal repercussions then you have no choice but to hand him over to Mihoshi and I right now!"

Nagi smirked. "Not quite. I have another option; I could bring him in. Once your superiors hear how he's been harboring Ryoko then I'm sure they'll retroactively authorize a bounty and put a price on his head. It wouldn't be as much as the prize for collaring Ryoko, but I imagine it would still be decent money."

Kiyone glared. "The Galaxy Police does _not_ retroactively sanction bounties!"

Nagi shook her head and gave what appeared to Ryoko to be a pitying glance at Kiyone. "Poor girl… I guess your partner's not the only reason why the Galaxy Police has you out here in the backwoods. You're just too naïve to be allowed close to the real action, aren't you?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" growled Kiyone.

"Simple," Nagi replied, "All I would have to do is slip a few credits to one of the clerks in the Galaxy Police's Bounty Issuance Office and they'd retroactively sanction a price on this boy's head without batting an eye. It wouldn't be the first time they've done that."

"Liar!" cried Mihoshi, "If anyone did that they'd be arrested and charged for corruption!"

"And those charges would bring with them investigations," said Nagi, her smirk becoming a cruel smile, "Investigations which would lead to higher ranking officials that most certainly would _not_ want their names cast in such a negative light… and would have the power to _kill_ said investigations. The Galaxy Police aren't nearly as upstanding and honest as you two beat cops think they are; your organization has a dark side, and it's quite ugly. It serves us bounty hunters quite well, though, so I'm not about to complain."

Ryoko stepped forward. "Look, I love hearing you trash talk the Galaxy Police, but I don't have time to listen to that today. You kidnapped a friend of mine, and I want him back."

Nagi looked over at Heero. "Just a friend? From what I saw over the past three days I thought you held him in higher regard than that."

Ryoko blushed. "That's none of your damn business!"

"Sir Heero is not just Ryoko's friend," said Ayeka as she stepped up to join her otherwise arch-rival in staring down the bounty hunter, "He is mine as well. He has acted as guardian and host to myself and my sister, and I demand that you release him immediately!"

Nagi's eyes narrowed. "Or you'll do what? Cry to your mother and father? I don't care if you're the crown princess of Jurai; get in my way and I'll deal with you accordingly. Besides, you're a long way from the Empire; the Imperial Fleet and the Royal Guard won't be of any use to you out here."

Ayeka was positively seething with fury. "Why, you…"

Nagi chuckled. "Now, now, there's no need to get upset. I'm perfectly happy to give Heero back to you. Of course, it won't be for free."

Washu folded her arms. "So now you're ransoming him? Now I remember why I never liked bounty hunters. Your kind seems to stoop lower and lower every time we cross paths."

"That's rich, coming from a woman who's built weapons capable of wiping out entire star systems," Nagi replied, "but it's besides the point. My terms really are quite modest."

"And what are they?" asked Kiyone.

"Simple," said Nagi, "There are two scenarios in which I'll release Heero. The first is if Ryoko willingly surrenders herself into my custody. Knowing Ryoko, though, I don't really see that happening. That's why I'm prepared to offer an alternate scenario; if Ryoko fights and defeats me, I'll let the boy go."

"And if she loses?" asked Ayeka.

Nagi smiled. "Then I'll haul off both her _and_ Heero to the Galaxy Police. No reason why I can't collect more than one bounty for my troubles, after all."

"That's not going to happen," Ryoko growled, "I'll take you on, and I'll kick your ass!"

"Now, hold on just a moment!" cried Ayeka, "If you are defeated then Sir Heero will suffer along with you! If you truly care for him, Ryoko, then you should give yourself up for his sake!"

Ryoko shook her head, her gaze firmly locked onto Nagi. "No. I'm going to win and take Heero back from this bitch if it's the last thing I do!"

Nagi nodded. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"You'll change your tune when I'm done with you," Ryoko snarled as she stepped forward.

Nagi smirked. "We'll see."

"Ryoko, think about this," said Kiyone, "This is not just your life that you're gambling with here."

"Shut up," snapped Ryoko, "Unless you're going to help then I suggest you stay out of this."

"About that," said Nagi, nodding towards Heero and pulling out a small remote from her cloak, "If anyone attempts to interfere in our duel, lover boy over there's in for some hurt. Several thousand volts worth of it, give or take a few."

"You fiend!" hissed Ayeka, "You're as bad as the scum that you hunt!"

"Hardly," Nagi replied, "I've spent a long time hunting Ryoko. Now that I'm so close to finally defeating her, I'm not taking any chances. The boy only gets hurt if you try to back up Ryoko. As long as you stay on the sidelines he'll remain unharmed. All I want is a duel; that's not too much to ask, right?"

"If that's all you want then you don't need a hostage!" cried Mihoshi.

"She's right," said Ryoko, "I would've fought you anyway, Nagi."

Nagi raised an eyebrow. "Really? So you can honestly tell me that you didn't start planning your escape the instant you saw Ken-Ohki?"

Ryoko nodded. "That's right. I happen to like staying here. I was never going to run, least of all from the likes of you. And now I've got even more of a reason to fight you."

Nagi chuckled as she looked over at Heero. "You really _do_ like him. Well, he is easy on the eyes, I suppose. Plus he does have that defiant spark in him… a pity it got him into trouble this time."

"Ryoko," said Sasami nervously, "are you going to be okay?"

Ryoko looked back at the girl and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll have this wrapped up and Heero back with us before you know it!"

Sasami nodded and smiled. "Okay."

Ayeka sighed. "You're really going to do this, aren't you?"

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "You bet I am."

Ayeka nodded. "Very well. In that case, for Sir Heero's sake _and_ yours you had best defeat her. If anything happens to him because of your actions then I will make sure that a lengthy prison sentence shall be the _least_ of your troubles."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ryoko replied dryly.

The others stepped back, leaving Ryoko to face her rival with nothing in the way. She couldn't help but glance off to the side at her unconscious host. Her blood boiled at the sight of Heero bound up like just another one of Nagi's bounties; she was going to make the hunter pay _dearly_ for what she had done to him.

Of course, her adversary saw exactly where she was looking. "You want him back? You know what you have to do."

"Yeah," Ryoko growled, crimson energy engulfing her hands, "so let's get to it!"

She raised her hands and cut loose. A barrage of energy balls raced through the air and hammered Nagi and the ground around her. Soon there was nothing but smoke where the bounty hunter had been standing, but Ryoko refused to let up; she knew how tough her foe was.

Suddenly she saw Nagi leap up out of the smoke cloud, completely unscathed. She flipped in the air as she drew her sword before falling down towards Ryoko, grinning all the while. Violet energy flowed up and down her golden saber, and Ryoko quickly brought her own crimson energy blade to life to block the blow.

"Ah," said Nagi as Ryoko pushed her back, "this brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Sure," said Ryoko as she lunged forward, "just like old times!"

The bounty hunter sidestepped her thrust and countered one of her own, forcing Ryoko onto the defensive. For her part, Ryoko leapt into the air and brought her scarlet blade down in a hard overhand strike. Rather than block the blow head on, Nagi deflected it to the side. Ryoko back flipped to avoid the expected counterattack, but she was surprised when Nagi didn't strike directly with her saber. Instead she fired off a volley of violet bolts from the weapon's tip. It was an attack that posed little threat to the pirate; she brought up her energy barrier and effortlessly deflected the shots.

"You'll have to do better than that!" yelled Ryoko as she returned fire, a steady stream of crimson spheres flowing from her left hand.

Nagi chuckled as the shots bounced off the shimmering force field that now surrounded her. "I could say the same for you."

 _Damn it_ , she silently fumed, _I guess she upgraded her shields since our last fight!_

"Why don't we spice things up a bit?" said the bounty hunter with a smirk as she pulled a cylindrical device out of her cloak.

Before Ryoko could react, Nagi threw the device into the air. A second later it detonated with a deafening crack, but that wasn't nearly as bad as the brilliant light that followed. Ryoko was forced to shield her eyes, and her foe used the opportunity to close in for a strike. The outlaw was barely able to bring her crimson blade up to block the violet saber, and she was forced to fall back.

"Damn you!" she snarled at her rival as she clumsily fended off the bounty hunter's attacks, "How the hell can you see in this damn light?"

"I had my eyes surgically altered," Nagi replied, and although Ryoko could barely see her face she knew that her foe was smiling, "They can handle light orders of magnitude brighter than this. It was expensive and hurt like hell, but it was definitely worth it!"

Ryoko knew that she couldn't keep fighting like this. Nagi was relentless, and while the brilliant light was starting to fade Ryoko's vision was still seriously impaired. Fortunately, she wasn't limited to just fighting on the ground.

The pirate took to the sky, firing off a volley of scarlet blasts to cover her ascent. The few shots that connected with Nagi were deflected by her shield, but the move had bought Ryoko some space, and that was what she'd been going for.

Unfortunately, her rival was undaunted by the fact that Ryoko was now airborne. She took a swing with her saber, and a long violet energy whip flared to life.

"Where do you think you're going?" said Nagi as she lashed out with the whip.

Ryoko was able to evade the initial strike, but her foe was as devious as she was persistent. The whip suddenly curled back around, and before Ryoko could react it had wrapped around her left leg.

"Get back down here!" Nagi yelled before giving a mighty pull.

Her opponent's strength was fierce, and Ryoko was yanked down to the ground. She hit the grass hard, and while the impact wasn't enough to knock her out it definitely dazed her.

"You're mine," said Nagi, a triumphant grin on her face.

Ryoko shook her head, clearing her vision and her head. "Not a chance!"

Sparks of blood-red energy coursed along her body and raced down her left leg towards the whip. The violet cord writhed and loosened enough to where Ryoko was able to pull her leg free. She then leapt back up to her feet, and not a moment too soon; her adversary was already lunging forward with her saber.

"Not bad," said Nagi as Ryoko barely managed to block her blow.

"Shut up!" she hissed as she struck back with a kick to the bounty hunter's gut.

Her blow landed and slightly staggered her foe, but not as much as Ryoko had hoped; apparently that skintight bodysuit of Nagi's had some sort of armor-fibers woven into the fabric. She tried to follow up with a diagonal slash from her blade, but her enemy was able to parry the strike and go right back onto the offensive.

"Same as always," said Nagi as she pushed Ryoko back with a sequence of lightning-quick thrusts and cuts, "You're all power and ferocity, but no technique."

"Quit talking like you're all hot shit!" Ryoko snarled as she frantically blocked Nagi's attacks.

Nagi chuckled. "Why? I love the way it gets under your skin!"

"Ugh," she groaned as she continued to fend off her rival's assault, "I swear, you can be such a troll!"

Nagi shrugged as she pressed her attack. "I'm just doing what works best. You always have been easy to agitate. It works to my advantage."

"You'll need more than that if you want to beat me!" Ryoko growled as she took to the sky again.

Nagi nodded. "Indeed. Time to turn up the heat!"

Ryoko unleashed a barrage of crimson spheres as her foe reached into her cloak. The pirate's attacks once again bounced off of the shield, and the force field gave the bounty hunter all the time she needed to pull out two silver spherical-devices. Ryoko had never seen those in her rival's arsenal before, but she doubted that they were anything pleasant.

"Try running from these!" said Nagi as she threw the silver balls into the air.

Her toss wasn't particularly strong; it wasn't even enough to get the spheres halfway up to Ryoko's altitude. That didn't seem to matter though, since at the peak of their arc they suddenly shot towards Ryoko like they had minds of their own.

 _Built-in anti-gravity emitters_ , she thought as she tried to put some distance between her and the spheres, _I wonder what else these things are packing…_

The silver balls zipped towards her at an astonishing speed, and before Ryoko knew it they had flanked her, one to each side. Sparks of blue and green lightning started emanating from them, and a second later Ryoko found herself engulfed in a barrage of powerful bolts.

She couldn't help but scream as the azure and emerald sparks coursed all over her body. The pain was excruciating, so much so that she found herself rapidly losing altitude. If nothing else, Nagi's new toys were a nasty piece of work.

She grimaced as she looked down at her rival. To her surprise, Nagi wasn't smiling as the pirate descended towards the ground, writhing in agony. Her arms were folded, and her expression was hard as stone.

"Surrender," said Nagi, "I'm no sadist, Ryoko; I don't particularly enjoy using methods like this, but I'll do whatever it takes to catch my prey. Give up now and the pain will end."

"Go…to… hell!" Ryoko gasped as she hit the ground, gritting her teeth as the lightning continued to engulf her body.

Nagi sighed and shook her head. "So damn stubborn. Fine; I'll just have to give you the same help that I gave your boy toy."

She drew an injector from her cloak and started walking towards her. A growing sense of panic gripped Ryoko; if that needle pierced her skin she knew that she was done for.

 _Damn it_ , she thought frantically, _I can't let it end here!_

If Nagi drugged her she would lose everything. Her ship, her freedom to roam the stars, to live life to the fullest, to party and plunder to her heart's content…

…no.

That _wasn't_ everything.

There was something missing.

And by chance or fate, her eyes found it.

Heero Yuy.

Her defeat would mean that she would lose _him_. It wouldn't be just because she'd be locked away for who knew how many centuries; Heero would be taken and thrown into a cell too. More to the point, in the remote chance that Ryoko ever tasted freedom again, by the time she got out Heero would likely have passed away; she knew that she could live for _much_ longer than the inhabitants of his world.

If she fell now, she would lose him forever.

 _No_ , she thought, a fresh fire burning in her heart, _I am_ not _going to lose him! I_ refuse _to go down like this, and I'll be_ damned _if I drag Heero down with me!_

A power she'd never felt before burst to life within her. Her entire body started pulsing with crimson energy. A storm was brewing inside her, and it was rapidly expanding and escalating in intensity. The power continued to build and build until Ryoko felt like she would burn up from within if she held it back. It needed an outlet, and she quickly found one.

Holding out her arms, she cut loose with a barrage of blood-red lighting. The storm of scarlet energy pushed the agonizing green and blue bolts right back to their sources, and the silver spheres exploded. She rose to her feet as fragments from the devices fell to the ground, and she had the satisfaction of watching her rival's face become as white as snow.

"What… what the hell is this?" she said, her ever-present cool faltering before Ryoko's newfound power.

Ryoko chuckled. "I don't know. Let's find out together, shall we?"

She lunged forward, her earlier torment scorched away by the incredible fire that was now coursing through her blood. Sparks danced along her crimson energy blade, and it radiated with an intensity that it had never shown before. Her strike was swift and powerful, staggering her rival even as she blocked the blow.

"So you've caught your second wind," Nagi spat as she stood her ground, "So what? You've still got nothing but brute strength; finesse is completely alien to you!"

Ryoko smiled. "So what? You can take your finesse and shove it right up where the sun don't shine!"

She hammered her foe with another fearsome blow. Nagi attempted to parry, but the force was too great, and the bounty hunter had no choice but to leap back to avoid taking the brunt of the attack.

Ryoko refused to give her adversary so much as an inch of breathing room. She pressed her assault, striking faster and harder than she had ever done so before. Her offensive was as ferocious as an oncoming cyclone, and it threatened to rip apart everything in her path. She continued to push her enemy back, propelled by a passion that she had never imagined could've dwelt within her. Tactics and strategy, reason and logic; these were all thrown right out the window. All she wanted to do was pulverize her opponent and free the young man that she captured.

 _I won't let you take him_ , she thought as she lashed out with blazing fury, _I won't let you take Heero away!_ _ **He's staying right here with me!**_

She rained down a monsoon of blows on Nagi. Whatever she might've lacked in technique and refinement she more than made up for with overwhelming power and savagery. Driven by a primal wrath, fuelled by a possessive rage that she could barely comprehend, she was determined to crush her foe beneath her heel and grind her into dust.

Ryoko didn't know how long this newfound power of hers would last, so she decided that this needed to end _now_. She drove herself hard and fast against her foe, bashing her way through Nagi's defenses with all the grace and subtlety of a sledgehammer. The bounty hunter leapt backwards, putting a bit of distance between them, but that simply caused Ryoko to switch over to longer-ranged attacks. She cut loose with a barrage of scarlet energy blasts, shots that were much more powerful than what she had been able to unleash earlier. Wave after wave of crimson energy rushed over Nagi's force field, and Ryoko's eyes narrowed as she saw sparks start to emanate from the generator built into her enemy's belt; the barrier was about to short out.

"You're mine!" the pirate snarled as she charged forward.

She raised her blood red blade and brought it down hard. Nagi was able to parry the blow, but before the bounty hunter could launch a counterattack Ryoko blasted her with a crimson ball of light from her left hand. That shot was the final one needed to shatter her opponent's force field, and Ryoko immediately followed it up with another scarlet sphere.

The blast sent Nagi to the ground, and she lost her grip on her saber. She wasn't dead, but her cloak and bodysuit were scorched, and her breath was labored. The bounty hunter reached for her blade and tried to stand, but Ryoko kicked her in the side before picking up her rival's weapon.

"Well, well," said Ryoko with a smile as she held the saber over her opponent's head, "I bet you didn't see this coming, did you, Nagi?"

Her adversary defiantly glared up at her. "Well, get on with it, don't just stand there and gloat!"

Ryoko chuckled. "Fine by me. So long, Nagi."

She raised the saber for a finishing blow, but before she could attack a white furball threw itself between her and Nagi. It was none other than Ken-Ohki, glaring up at her and hissing in fury.

Ryoko tried to shoot him away. "Beat it, fleabag! She's the one I want dead, not you!"

Ken-Ohki bared his fangs at her and hissed again, refusing to budge. Ryoko's eyes narrowed as she met his gaze.

"Fine," she said, "Have it your way. You die with her."

"Ryoko, don't do it!" cried Sasami.

"That's enough, Ryoko!" yelled Kiyone.

"Ryoko!" screamed Mihoshi.

"You've already defeated her!" shouted Ayeka.

"Don't let your rage control you!" yelled Washu.

"Shut up!" Ryoko growled, "You saw that this bitch did to Heero!"

" _Meow!"_ cried a familiar female feline.

Now Ryo-Ohki was between Ken-Ohki, Nagi, and Ryoko. The cabbit was shaking her head frantically, pleading with her master not to go through with it.

"Ryo-Ohki," Ryoko hissed, "Move it!"

Ryo-Ohki refused. She continued to shake her head, adamant in her opposition. A few times she would even look off to the side, nod, and then shake her head. It took a few repeats for Ryoko to realize what she was trying to convey.

Ryo-Ohki might not have been able to speak a conventional language, but she still had ways of getting across what she wanted. Where she was looking and nodding was actually Heero, and the way she would then turn back to Ryoko and shake her head made things clear; her finishing off Nagi like this wasn't what he would want.

Ryoko grit her teeth in frustration. "Damn it! How do you know that? She was the one that did that to him!"

Her living starship refused to budge, and much to her surprise Ryoko could feel her simmering fury weakening, becoming something closer to simple annoyance. The power that came with that fury was fading too, and with it the crimson haze that had engulfed her mind and body. It felt like one hell of an adrenaline letdown, but at least she could feel her ability to reason effectively return to her.

She sighed, and the crimson energy blade in her right hand faded while she lowered the saber in her left. "Fine. Damn it… you're a real pain in the ass sometimes, Ryo-Ohki."

"Meow," her furry companion replied, looking quite relieved at her decision to back down.

She brushed both Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki aside with her foot before giving Nagi a good kick to the side. "Listen up, bitch. I won, so let Heero go. Then get the hell out of here. You got that?"

Nagi nodded. "Fine. I did say that I'd release him if you defeated me, after all."

Ryoko tensed as Nagi reached within her cloak and pulled out a remote. Her apprehension was proven to be misplaced a second later when the bounty hunter pressed a button and Heero's shock collar, stun cuffs and leg shackles all came undone.

"Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka as she rushed forward.

The rest of the girls were right behind her. Ryoko wanted to join them, but she didn't dare take her eyes off of Nagi. She backed off just enough to allow her rival the chance to stand up.

Nagi smirked as she got to her feet. "Still think I'm going to try something? Relax, Ryoko. I'll honor the terms of our duel."

"Good," said Ryoko, "Now beat it."

Nagi's eyes narrowed. "You know that this isn't goodbye forever, right? I'll retrain, upgrade my gear, and take on more bounties for a while, but eventually I'll be coming for you again."

"That's fine," Ryoko replied, "I'll take you on anytime, but you leave Heero out of it. You got that?"

Nagi shrugged. "That depends on him. He was willing to fight me earlier for your sake. If you don't talk him out of it, then I'm willing to bet that he'd do the same thing again."

 _She's got a point_ , Ryoko privately admitted, _Damn it, Heero, I appreciate you sticking up for me like that, but you were in way over your head this time._

She saw Nagi nod towards the ground. "It seems I'm not the only one who will want to come back after you."

Following her rival's gaze, she saw Ken-Ohki and Ryo-Ohki nudging up against each other. They were both purring happily, and Ryoko sighed.

"That's going to be a problem," she groaned while passing Nagi's saber back to her.

"They'll have to get over it," the bounty hunter replied as she sheathed the blade, "Ken-Ohki! We're leaving!"

"Meow!" the white cabbit pouted.

"Quit whining!" Nagi snapped, "It's time to go."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Ryoko glared down at her cabbit. "You seriously like him? What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Meow," Ryo-Ohki murmured, and Ryoko couldn't tell if her furry sidekick embarrassed or swooning over her new friend.

Ryoko shook her head. "What am I going to do with you? You really need to work on your taste in men."

Nagi chuckled. "I bet she picked that up from you. Lover boy over there's quite the catch, after all."

Ryoko blushed as she glanced over at the unconscious Heero, who was surrounded by the other girls. "Would you just beat it already?"

Nagi rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just one thing."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "What's that?"

"Your boy toy's a real fighter," she said with a smile, "He might be from the sticks, but he still stands out; not a whole lot of guys like him out there."

Ryoko folded her arms. "What are you getting at?"

Nagi's smile became a smirk. "I just so happen to _like_ fighters such as him. If I swing by again and he makes another decent go at it… well, I might just have to take him under my wing. I bet if I trained him, he'd be one hell of a bounty hunter… and maybe _more_."

"Get. Out. Of. Here," Ryoko snarled, fighting with every ounce of her strength the urge to strangle her rival where she stood, " _Now!_ "

Nagi chuckled as she leaned down and picked up Ken-Ohki. "Whatever you say. So long, Ryoko."

She then chucked her cabbit into the air. "Go, Ken-Ohki!"

" _Meow!_ " cried the white furball as it went through the same transformation sequence that Ryo-Ohki was capable of.

The male cabbit shifted and expanded until it was no longer recognizable as a living creature. Now it was a mirror image of Ryo-Ohki's starship form, save for having a pale color scheme as opposed to Ryo-Ohki's darker palette. A violet beam shot out of the craft and engulfed the bounty hunter.

"Until next time, Ryoko," she said, "You'd better not let anyone else claim your bounty before then."

"I'd like to see them try," she shot back, "Now get lost!"

Nagi disappeared, and Ken-Ohki rapidly ascended. A few seconds later it was completely out of sight, much to Ryoko's relief.

"Good riddance," she muttered.

"Meow," Ryo-Ohki pouted.

Ryoko folded her arms. "Oh, quit whining. You're better off without him, anyway."

Ryo-Ohki ignored her. Instead she started hopping over towards Heero and the others, leaving Ryoko no choice but to follow.

"Hey," she said as she pushed through the crowd and leaned down, "How's he doing?"

Ayeka sighed with relief. "He's appears to be unharmed. Thank goodness."

Washu nodded. "I recognize the drug Nagi injected him with. He'll be out of it for at least a few more hours, but it won't do any real damage to him."

Mihoshi smiled. "He looks so peaceful like this, doesn't he?"

He really did. It was quite a contrast from his normally cool and stoic demeanor. Asleep like this, Heero looked so innocent and vulnerable that Ryoko actually found herself blushing as she looked at him.

Kiyone nodded. "Hard to believe he got into a fight with the legendary Nagi."

"I'm just glad he's okay," said Sasami, "We should get him inside and let him rest."

Ryoko nodded. "I'll take him upstairs."

Ayeka's eyes widened as Ryoko carefully put her arms underneath Heero and lifted him up. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I already told you," said Ryoko as she cradled her handsome host, "Taking him to his room so he can sleep the rest of this off."

"I'd rather have him in my lab," said Washu, "He really should be kept under observation, at least until he wakes up."

Ryoko smiled. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"That's awfully generous of you," said Kiyone.

"Aw," cooed Mihoshi, "That's so sweet! I'll come too!"

Ryoko glared at her. "No! You'll just wake him up early, you klutz!"

Ayeka scowled at Ryoko. "I don't like this. What foul scheme have you concocted this time, you fiend?"

"I don't have one, you royal brat!" Ryoko snapped as she started floating upwards, "Stop being so damn paranoid!"

"Get back here at once!" Ayeka ordered.

She was held back by Sasami. "Ayeka, stop it! Let her take Heero to his room so he can rest! He wouldn't want you two to fight like this!"

Ayeka kept glaring as Ryoko continued to ascend with her precious prize. "I swear, if you try anything untoward with regards to Sir Heero I shall hand you over to that bounty hunter personally!"

Ryoko rolled her eyes as she came level with the window for Heero's room. "Take your best shot."

Without further adieu she phased through the window and the wall, cutting off any possible reply from the princess.

"Finally, some freaking peace and quiet," she muttered as she carried Heero over to the bed.

With a tenderness that surprised even her, she carefully laid the young man down on the bed. She then took a few moments to adjust the covers before slipping him beneath them and making sure his head was comfortably against the pillow.

She smiled as she looked down at him. "There. I think you've earned a little break after all the crap you've put up with today, huh, Heero?"

Of course, he didn't answer; he was still out cold. Still, if he were awake, Ryoko imagined that he would've agreed with her.

With nothing else to do, Ryoko knelt down besides the bed and absently ran her fingers through Heero's thick brown hair. Her smile only grew as she thought about the day's events, especially with regards to what Nagi had said about the young man before her.

 _"He was willing to fight me earlier for your sake. If you don't talk him out of it, then I'm willing to bet that he'd do the same thing again."_

 _I bet you would too, Heero_ , she thought, _I could tell from the moment we met that you were an interesting guy, but now… you really are one of a kind, aren't you?_

Before she could continue that train of thought her eyes started to flutter. She felt a little light headed, and Ryoko realized that whatever power she had drawn upon in her fury earlier in the battle had taken more out of her than she'd initially suspected. She could really use some shuteye, but at the same time she was quit reluctant to leave Heero's side.

Her smile became devious despite her weariness. Ayeka would flip out if she knew what Ryoko had in mind, which was all the more reason to do it. Without hesitation, she crawled into bed beside Heero, pressing herself tightly against him under the covers.

"You don't mind a little company, do you, handsome?" she whispered in his ear as she laid her head down next to his on the pillow.

She was pretty sure that Heero _would_ mind if he were conscious, but to Ryoko that was just further motivation for her actions. If nothing else, his reaction when he woke up and saw her in bed next to him was bound to be priceless.

Before sleep could overtake her, she leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Sorry for getting you dragged into that mess, Heero. Sleep well, tiger."

A few seconds later she was off in dreamland.

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Heero: Well, I'm glad Nagi's gone._

 _Ryoko: Yeah, no kidding._

 _Sasami: I'm just glad that you're okay, Heero!_

 _Ayeka: Indeed. Perhaps we can finally have some peace and quiet for a while?_

 _Kiyone: That'd be nice._

 _Mihoshi: Aw, but what'll we do for fun?_

 _Washu: Whatever you do, it'd better not involve my lab, Mihoshi!_

 _Sally: The rest of you can relax for a while, but I'm afraid we need Heero, Ayeka, and Washu to come to the Brussels for a few days._

 _Heero: The capital? Why?_

 _Sally: Because there's a tree growing in the middle of Lake Genval now._

 _Ayeka: Ryu-Oh!_

 _Washu: Fascinating… well, I guess that'd be worth checking out._

 _Ryoko: Hey, how come I have to stay back here with the others?_

 _Sally: Because we're trying to keep this visit low-profile, and we can't do that if you're fighting with Ayeka the whole time._

 _Heero: Kiyone, you're in charge until we get back._

 _Kiyone: You got it._

 _Sasami: Have fun!_

 _Mihoshi: Bring back some souvenir snacks for me please!_

 _Washu: Next time, in Chapter Nine: No Need For A Royal Tree!_

 _Ayeka: Finally, I can get Sir Heero away from Ryoko!_

 _Ryoko: Damn it, this blows! Ayeka, don't get any funny ideas!_

 _Washu: This should be interesting…_

 **Author's notes:** Well, this chapter wraps up the intro arc; the main harem's all taken the stage, and one of the recurring characters has been given her due. The next few chapters will be kind of a breather; a little bit of fun before the next big arc kicks into gear.

Regarding Ryoko's burst of power towards the end of the fight with Nagi; that's actually related to the gem that Washu implanted inside of her, which was mentioned back in Chapter Seven. That's going to be kind of important later on, so watch this space!

Hope you all liked the chapter. Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes:** Phew, I've been a busy fanfic author lately! First I release a new chapter for my Wing/SEED fic, and now the update for this one. I'm on a roll, and it feels pretty good!

Enjoy!

 **Chapter Nine: No Need For A Royal Tree!**

For what must've been the tenth time that hour, Ayeka looked over her shoulder and down the hall back towards the stairs. "I do hope that he's all right."

Washu rolled her eyes. "Oh, would you just relax already? How many times do I have to tell you that Heero's fine? It's just going to be a little while before he wakes up!"

Sasami smiled at her. "If Washu says he'll be okay, then I don't think we have anything to worry about!"

"It's not Heero's health she's worried about, you know," said Kiyone as she took a sip of her tea, "She's worried about Ryoko being up there alone with him."

Ayeka blushed furiously. "So… so what if I am? It isn't proper! Who knows what that fiend will do?"

"She won't do anything," said Mihoshi with a grin, "You saw the way she was holding him, Ayeka; she was worried about him just like the rest of us! She's just watching over him, I know it!"

 _Even that is too much_ , thought Ayeka, _It should be_ I _that watches over him, not that skank!_

And yet, here she was, downstairs in the living room with the others while Ryoko was alone with Heero in his bedroom. Why had she acquiesced? She supposed that the simplest answer was that she didn't want to start a fight while Heero was asleep; the last thing that she wanted to do was disturb his slumber at a time like this.

Of course, there was more to it than that. While it had been Ryoko's criminal history that had brought the bounty hunter down upon their heads in the first place, a very small part of Ayeka actually felt that Ryoko had _earned_ the right to watch over Heero because she had defeated Nagi. Despite her animosity towards the pirate, Ayeka really had been prepared to aid her in her fight against the bounty hunter, at least up until Nagi had threatened further harm to Heero should anyone interfere in the duel. It was a good reason to avoid engaging, but Ayeka still could not help but feel some small measure of shame over the fact that she had been unable to come to Heero's rescue in his hour of need. That had been left to her rival, and it left a rather bitter taste in her mouth.

"Do you really think that Nagi will come back?" asked Mihoshi.

Kiyone nodded. "She's got a reputation to uphold; she never gives up the hunt. She'll come back sooner or later. I just hope it's later; I'd like to have just a little bit of peace around here."

"I'm sure Heero would agree with that," said Washu.

"As would I," said Azaka.

"It would be nice to avoid major confrontations for the foreseeable future," chimed in Kamidake.

"I'm still surprised that Ryoko was able to beat her," said Kiyone, "I know that she's powerful, but Nagi's collared some serious bounties in her time. She's nailed people that the Galaxy Police haven't been able to touch; almost every bounty she's earned the past five years alone has been on either the Galactic-level list or the Most Wanted list. The scum with bounties of either classification are capable of some serious mayhem."

"Ryoko's bounty is at the Most Wanted level, isn't it?" asked Ayeka.

Kiyone nodded. "Yup. Didn't take her long to get up to that level, either; that was when she disabled three Galaxy Police cruisers that were pursuing her after she plundered a freighter registered to the Jurai Imperial Treasury."

"Ryoko can be pretty scary sometimes," said Mihoshi softly, "Like in the fight earlier."

Ayeka had to admit that Mihoshi had a point. She knew that her rival was fearsome and powerful, but what she had displayed today felt like an entirely new level of threat. Her viciousness and fury in the latter part of the duel had been rather unnerving; she'd had no idea that Ryoko possessed such hidden reserves of power, or that she was capable of tapping into them when she was immersed so deeply into her wrath.

She saw Washu's brow furrow in thought. "I wonder…"

"What is it?" asked Ayeka, "Do you know something, Washu?"

The mad scientist smirked. "Well… maybe."

"Care to clue us in?" asked Kiyone.

Washu shook her head. "Nope."

"Aw," pouted Mihoshi, "Why not?"

"Because I need more time and more data to confirm my hypothesis," Washu replied, "So I have no intention of sharing my insights with any of you at this time."

Ayeka scowled. "You're as fiendish as your daughter!"

Washu chuckled. "Oh, no. If anything, I'm _much_ worse! Care for a demonstration, Ayeka?"

Ayeka's face paled as the frog incident flashed through her mind; she was _quite_ eager to avoid a repeat of that fiasco. "No, not at all, no thank you! I shall take your word for it!"

Washu smiled. "That's what I thought."

Ayeka hated the fact that Washu could provoke such a reaction from her. It was completely beneath her standing as the crown princess of Jurai! Yet there was nothing that she could do to fight it, or at least nothing that did not risk making Washu follow through on her threats.

Ayeka was distracted by her sister getting up and heading to the kitchen. "More tea already, Sasami?"

Sasami shook her head. "Not for me. I'm going to take some up to Ryoko. I bet she could use some."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. Please check on Sir Heero while you're up there, all right? I expect you to tell me if his condition has changed even the slightest bit!"

Sasami smiled. "Sure!"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Ayeka," groaned Kiyone as Sasami disappeared up the stairs, "Give it a rest already! If Washu said he's going to be asleep for a few hours then I doubt anything will have changed by the time Sasami gets up there."

"You really should stop worrying so much, Ayeka," chirped Mihoshi, "It's bad for your health, you know?"

"She's right, Princess Ayeka," said Azaka, "What would your mother and father say if they saw you like this?"

"It's rather unbecoming of you," chimed in Kamidake.

She rounded on her guardians, glaring daggers at them. "And just what gives the two of you the authority to lecture me? Remember your place!"

Their lights blinked rapidly, and Ayeka knew that she had knocked them down a peg. "We're sorry!"

"Hey," pouted Mihoshi, "don't take it out on them!"

Ayeka folded her arms. "Why not? They are my guardians and servants; I may do with them as I see fit!"

Kiyone shook her head. "It's kind of childish, Ayeka."

Ayeka's eyes widened in indignation. "Childish? _Me?_ You're in no position to make that observation! You're supposed to be protecting me along with them!"

"Protect you, yes," Kiyone shot back, "but that doesn't mean I can't criticize you. The Galaxy Police isn't another group of servants for you."

"Look," said Washu, "if you're that worried about him, just ask Sasami how he's doing when she comes back down."

Kiyone nodded. "Yeah, and then try to calm down for a little while. The rest of us could use a bit of peace and quiet after today."

Ayeka scowled. "Fine! Since it's clear that none of you share my level of devotion to Sir Heero's well being, I shall grace you with silence you do not deserve once my sister has delivered her report!"

She didn't have that long to wait; it was just about a minute later that she heard Sasami come down the stairs. Ayeka was on her feet before her younger sister had even entered the living room.

"Sasami!" she cried, "How is Sir Heero? Has he awoken yet?"

Sasami smiled and shook her head. "No, not yet. He's okay, though; Ryoko's sleeping with him. They look so cute snuggled up together!"

Ayeka froze, and her face became paler than snow. "What… what did you just say?"

Sasami blinked. "Ryoko's sleeping with Heero. Why? What's wrong, Ayeka?"

Ayeka was silent. Her response to her younger sister instead came in the form of clenched fists and grinding teeth. The mixture of shock, indignation, and rage that was rapidly building up within her would require release, and she did not want to unleash it upon Sasami.

She was so wrapped up in her gathering fury that she barely noticed the others react with wide eyes and dropping jaws. All that mattered were the mental images that were playing through her head, and they were quite explicit.

"That… that _fiend_!" she hissed, positively quaking with anger, "That foul _tramp_! Loathsome _cur!_ _I will not stand for this!_ "

She bolted from the room, making a beeline for the stairs. Ayeka didn't notice the others tripping over themselves and each other as they chased after her, and even if she had she wouldn't have cared. She practically flew up the stairs, and before she knew it she had zipped through the second floor and was on the third. In the blink of an eye she was standing before Heero's bedroom door, and she violently threw it open.

There was Heero, sound asleep in his bed. And right next to him, her head resting on his shoulder and her body pressed up tightly against his was the lady of the hour herself. For a moment Ayeka stood there, silently seething.

But only for a moment.

" _ **RYOKO!**_ "

….

Groaning as her sleep was abruptly interrupted by what sounded like the shriek of the damned, Ryoko rubbed her eyes as she tried to find the source of the infernal wailing. It only took a few seconds for her to locate it; it was standing right next to the bed.

"Oh, it's you," she mumbled as she started to close her eyes again, "Go away; I'm trying to sleep."

" _I shall do no such thing!_ " Ayeka shouted at her, " _Get out of that bed_ _ **right NOW!**_ "

Ryoko looked up at her and smirked. "What's the matter, Ayeka? Jealous?"

"Ryoko!" Kiyone scolded from behind the princess, "Just what the hell are you doing?"

"Why are you in bed with Heero?" asked Mihoshi, and Ryoko swore that the innocence in her voice _had_ to be an act.

Ryoko smiled as she sat up. "Keeping Heero company, of course. I did say that I'd watch over him, didn't I?"

Washu chuckled. "Yeah, well, we didn't think you'd be getting quite so up close and personal with him in the process."

Ryo-Ohki hopped up onto the bed and sniffed the still sleeping Heero for a moment before turning to Ryoko. "Meow!"

Ryoko patted her on the head. "I know, right? He's pretty cute like this!"

"That is beside the point!" Ayeka fumed, "I should've known that you would stoop to this! You truly are a skank, Ryoko!"

"Ayeka!" Sasami scolded, "You shouldn't call people names like that!"

Kiyone shook her head. "And here I thought you were actually being nice and trying to make up for bringing Nagi down on our heads. I should've known that you'd have ulterior motives for volunteering to watch over Heero."

Ryoko smirked. "Oh, don't be like that. You're just jealous because you didn't think of it first."

She had the satisfaction of seeing the space cop blush. "That's not true!"

"Whether it's true or not is irrelevant!" snapped Ayeka, "Ryoko, _get out of that bed!_ "

Before she could answer she heard a moan coming from behind her. Looking down at Heero, she saw his eyelids flutter; it looked like he was coming to.

"Damn it…" he groaned, "Who's strangling the cat?"

It was all Ryoko could do to keep from bursting out in laughter. That was certainly _one_ way to describe Ayeka's angry screeching.

"Sir Heero!" Ayeka cried as she rushed forward, and Ryoko thought for a moment that she was about to get tackled by the princess.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki with joy.

"Are you okay?" asked Mihoshi.

He started to rub his eyelids and try to clear his vision. "I think so…"

Sasami smiled. "Thank goodness!"

Kiyone sighed. "So much for letting him rest a little while longer."

He slowly propped himself up on his arms and looked at Ryoko and the others. "What's going on?"

"Don't you remember anything?" asked Washu.

Heero closed his eyes for a moment before they snapped back open a split second later. "Nagi… Ryoko!"

He looked genuinely concerned as he said her name, and while that was quite touching to Ryoko she didn't want him stressing himself out right now, so she put her hands on his shoulders to reassure him. "Hey, it's okay, Heero! I took care of her. She's gone."

"For the moment, anyway," said Kiyone, "She did say that she'd come back eventually to take another shot at your bounty."

Ryoko shook her head. "It won't be anytime soon. I know how she works; she's going to put some serious time into retraining, not to mention scoring some more bounties and upgrading her gear, before she comes back for another round."

She saw Heero close his eyes again and sigh, taking a moment to collect himself. "I see. That's good."

He then started checking himself over and frowned a moment later. "My gun's missing. So is my knife."

"I'm sorry, Sir Heero," said Ayeka, "I do not know where your weapons are."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "I bet I know where they are. Nagi took them."

He looked up at her. "How can you be so sure?"

"It's how she is," Ryoko replied, "She takes souvenirs from people she enjoyed fighting after she defeats them. In a way, it's kind of a compliment; you must've done really well, Heero."

Heero shook his head. "Not well enough. She didn't even break a sweat in taking me down."

"Don't be so tough on yourself," said Kiyone with a smile, "You took on an opponent who outclassed you in technology, not to mention one that has experience in taking on very powerful fugitives. I may not have been there to witness your fight, but Nagi herself said that you handled yourself well. For better or worse, I think you made an impression on her."

"I'm not sure how to take that," he said as his hand found the mark on his neck left by Nagi's injector, "What did she drug me with?"

"A heavy duty sedative," said Washu, "Don't worry; it didn't do any damage to you. It's popular with bounty hunters because it lasts quite a while and doesn't inflict any harm to the subject, making it perfect for securing a live capture. Frankly, I'm surprised that you're already awake; I thought you'd be out of it for a few more hours at least."

Ryoko smirked as she looked at Ayeka. "Please. As if anyone could sleep through the royal brat's tantrum."

"You insolent cur!" Ayeka fumed.

Ryoko chuckled. "See what I mean?"

"Does it really matter?" asked Mihoshi, "What's really important is that Heero's awake now, so we know that he's okay!"

"I wouldn't be so definitive about that," said Washu, her eyes narrowing, "Heero, if you don't mind, I'd like to examine you down in my lab when you're up for it. It can't hurt to be too careful."

Heero nodded. "All right."

Washu then turned to Ryoko. "The same goes for you. You're up after Heero."

Ryoko's eyes widened. "What? No way!"

Washu gave her an evil grin. "What makes you think I'm giving you a choice in the matter?"

Ryoko gulped. She didn't know what sort of tricks Washu might stoop to in order to force her cooperation, but she was pretty sure that none of them would be pleasant. As much as she hated to admit it, it would be best to swallow her pride and go along quietly.

She looked down and grumbled. "Fine. Just don't make it as uncomfortable as last time."

Washu smiled. "Relax. You'll get to keep your clothes on this time, I promise."

"This time?" asked Heero, raising an eyebrow, "Am I missing something?"

Ryoko's face flushed deep scarlet. "It's nothing!"

"You'll be fine," said Sasami with an innocent smile, "Washu's the greatest genius in the universe, remember?"

"She's right!" said Mihoshi with a grin, "You both got pretty beat up, so it's best if she looks at you!"

Heero turned to Ryoko, and once again she was touched by what looked like genuine concern in his expression. "You were hurt? Are you all right?"

Ryoko smiled, and her heart fluttered at his compassion. "I'm fine, Heero. It's nothing that I can't deal with. I'm a pretty tough girl, remember?"

Heero nodded, although he didn't seem entirely at ease. "Right."

 _I really had him worried there_ , she thought, _I wonder if I'm starting to grow on him…_

"So," said Kiyone, "what comes next?"

"What do you mean?" asked Heero.

"I mean that you just had another visitor from beyond your star system," Kiyone replied, "and she wasn't exactly friendly. Plus there's a good chance that she'll be back again someday. Aren't you going to report that to your superiors?"

Heero closed his eyes in thought for a moment, and Ryoko got nervous. The young man before her had cut her a lot of slack with regards to her criminal background, but it hadn't actually hurt him until today. Heero had gone through considerable lengths already to keep Ryoko's past misdeeds out of the spotlight, but his fight with Nagi could very well have changed his calculus on the matter.

His eyes opened, and he shook his head. "No. From what I can tell, none of our injuries are life threatening, and you said that Nagi will be gone for some time. Nagi had already been here for three days before she made her move; the fact that she was able to make her landing without being spotted by our orbital grid means she probably got out unseen too. Preventers is none the wiser… and I'm inclined to keep it that way. Sally and Director Une have enough on their plates, and I don't intend to add to it."

Ryoko sighed with relief. Heero had her back again. That was another one that she owed him, and she knew that she was beginning to stack up quite a debt as far as he was concerned. She didn't know if he was keeping track, but she was, and she silently vowed to find some way to make up for it in the future.

Kiyone's eyes narrowed, but in the end she nodded. "All right, then. It's your call."

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka with a hint of apprehension, "Far be it from me to question your judgment in this affair, but this bounty hunter is truly dangerous. Would it not be wiser to alert Lady Sally and Director Une? For goodness sakes, she drugged you and then used you as a hostage! This cannot go unanswered! At the very least, we could have Kiyone send a message to the Galaxy Police regarding Nagi's misconduct, and they could pass that along to the Empire. Nagi would surely be charged with kidnapping and assault, and that's the very _least_ that she deserves for attacking and drugging you!"

"No," said Heero firmly, "We'll keep this between ourselves. Is that clear, Ayeka?"

Ayeka nodded. "As you wish, Sir Heero."

"Don't worry!" said Mihoshi with a smile, "If she comes back again, we'll fight her off together!"

Kiyone sighed. "It's not that simple, Mihoshi. She's a legally licensed bounty hunter. She's well within her rights to pursue Ryoko. Heero's mission may be to look after Ryoko, but by doing so he is still defending someone recognized as a wanted criminal by both the Empire of Jurai and the Galaxy Police. As much as I hate to admit it, Nagi did nothing illegal when she fought Heero."

"But she didn't have to cuff him and drug him like that!" Sasami protested.

Kiyone shook her head. "Sorry, but she was within her rights to do that as well."

The Detective then turned to Heero. "I respect your dedication to your mission, Heero, but if you continue to defend Ryoko then incidents like this will happen again. I'll do what I can to help you, but as a member of the Galaxy Police I'm bound by the rules and regulations laid down by my superiors, not to mention galactic law. I only have so much leeway to interfere in matters like this. The same goes for Mihoshi."

Heero nodded. "I understand. I knew what I was getting into when Ryoko told me about her past. That doesn't change my mission or my commitment to carrying it out. Ryoko, like the rest of you, is under my supervision. I won't let anything get in the way of me performing my duties as the operative assigned to watch over all of you."

Ryoko smiled. She knew that Heero was a tough guy, but his determination to stick things out was still impressive. It was good to see that he wasn't the kind of person who would back down just because trouble was coming his way.

 _You're nowhere near as powerful as me, Heero_ , she thought, _and you don't have Nagi's experience or bag of tricks… but you've got guts. That counts for a lot from where I'm sitting._

Ryoko was surprised to see Kiyone smile as well. "I understand. Your devotion to your duty is on par with that which the Galaxy Police expects from its officers. I'll render whatever aid I can to you in your mission."

"Me too!" chirped Mihoshi.

Ayeka sighed before smiling too. "I suppose it can't be helped. As I am here thanks to your grace and charity, I shall do all I can to assist you in carrying out your duties as well, Sir Heero."

Ryoko smirked. "Even if that means watching my back, Ayeka?"

Ayeka folded her arms and scowled. "It would be for Sir Heero's sake, not yours! Don't go getting the wrong idea, you she-devil!"

"Come on, Ayeka," Sasami gently chided her sister, "You don't need to hide it; Ryoko's your friend, just like this rest of us!"

Ayeka looked nothing short of mortified at the suggestion. " _Absolutely not!_ "

"For once, I'm with you," said Ryoko as she rolled her eyes, "Sorry, kid, but I'm not seeing me being friends with your big sister anytime soon."

Sasami shook her head. "That'll change. You'll see!"

"If it cuts down on the fighting, then I'm all for it," said Heero, "but I won't force the issue."

"It'd take a miracle worker to get these two to get along," said Washu with a chuckle, "I may be a genius, but I'm not going to try my hand at playing diplomat between them."

"I think that's a job for hostage negotiators," Kiyone quipped dryly.

"I'm with Sasami," said Mihoshi cheerfully, "I think the two of you could be best friends and just don't know it yet!"

"Dream on," Ryoko muttered.

"As if!" Ayeka huffed.

"I'll leave that to you two to decide," said Heero as he moved to get out of bed, "In the meantime, I could use a bite to eat."

Sasami's eyes widened. "That's right! You completely missed lunch! You must be starving, Heero!"

"Oh, dear," said Ayeka as she rushed forward to take Heero's arm, "Right this way, Sir Heero! I'll see to it that you enjoy a hearty meal!"

"Hey, hands off!" barked Ryoko as she grabbed Heero's other arm, "I'll take him downstairs and get him food!"

"No, you shall not!" snarled Ayeka as she pulled Heero towards him.

"Yes, I will!" growled Ryoko as she pulled back.

"Stop it, you two!" pleaded Mihoshi.

"You'll hurt Heero!" cried Sasami.

"Cut it out, you two," said Heero as he struggled to free himself from them, "I was just out of it for a little while, not crippled. I can make my way downstairs just fine on my own."

Ryoko and Ayeka reluctantly released him, glaring at each other all the while. Ryoko knew that she would have to keep a close eye on Ayeka over the next few days; who knew what she would try in her efforts to score points with Heero after the mess with Nagi.

"Some food will do you good," said Washu, "After that, it's straight to the lab. Ryoko, you're up after him."

Ryoko grumbled. "Fine."

Letting Washu examine her wasn't Ryoko's idea of fun, but she knew that it would be best to just get it over with. Once it was done she could go right back to Heero's side. Staying by him for a little while longer was the least that she could do after all the trouble he'd gotten into on her behalf.

….

Sitting at her desk, Washu smiled as Ryoko left the lab. "Well, that went smoothly enough."

Washu hadn't been lying to Ryoko when she'd said that she'd get to keep her clothes on this time. The same had gone for Heero, although it certainly _had_ been tempting to convince him to strip down so she could examine him in _intimate_ detail. Alas, she had restrained her impulses and let him keep _most_ of his clothes on; in this case, her deviousness took a back seat to genuine curiosity.

The space pirate and the young man playing host to her were both points of keen interest for Washu. With the former, it was really quite simple; Washu wanted to keep track of how Ryoko's power had developed, and the clash earlier today had given her ample reason for a fresh examination of her daughter. The new strength that she had exhibited in the later portion of the fight indicated possible activity on the part of the gem that she had implanted within Ryoko, and Washu was just dying to know if it had begun to stir from its state of dormancy. As for the latter, it was based on part genuine concern for his health and part inquisitiveness. After all, she'd desired to study Heero's physiology for some time. He was an interesting male specimen of his species, and he seemed to be in peak condition. Her knowledge of humans remained limited, so this was an excellent opportunity to start filling in some gaps.

Her fingers dancing along the keyboard, she brought up the results from Ryoko's scans first. Her eyes narrowed as she zoomed in on the gem embedded within Ryoko's chest. The image showed a very faint pulse of power coming from it; its slumber was no longer a peaceful one. It wasn't awake yet, but it had been nudged in that direction.

"I thought so," she murmured, "It _did_ react to her during the fight… but what was the trigger?"

An incredibly powerful emotion would be required on Ryoko's part to begin the process of awakening the gem. Anger was the most logical one given the nature of her fight with Nagi, but Washu suspected there might be more to it than that. Ryoko had been fighting to save Heero after all, and one didn't need to be a genius like herself to figure out that her daughter had some pretty strong feelings for the boy. Were they strong enough to contribute to the stirring of the gem inside her, though? That was a question that Washu could not quite answer as of yet.

For the moment, it didn't look like the gem would move further down the path to awakening without further prompting, and said prompting wouldn't come without a crisis of some kind. While Washu was all for some excitement, she felt that the events of today had been good enough for a while. Besides, if the gem fully awakened before Ryoko was ready, who knew what could happen? Her power as it stood now was considerable, but if it were amplified by the gem then it was difficult to say how she would react.

And that wasn't even including the fact that the gem within her was part of a set of three.

Washu moved Ryoko's results aside for the moment. She could come back later on and study them in greater detail. Now her attention turned to the data she'd collected from Heero Yuy. The young man had been quite cooperative with her. Skin, hair, and blood samples had been taken without incident, and he'd only raised an eyebrow when she'd asked him to take his shirt off. She might've been looking him over for lingering signs of wounds, but privately Washu couldn't deny that she'd just been unable to resist the urge to check him out a bit for her personal viewing pleasure.

 _He certainly keeps in shape_ , she thought with a smile, _I wonder what that body of his is capable of in a more_ private _atmosphere…_

She shook her head. She was a scientist; the pursuit of knowledge took priority over any of her natural needs… even ones that had been denied for a _very_ long time. Tapping a sequence on the console, she started sifting through the data she'd gathered regarding her host.

There were still traces of the drug Nagi had injected him with in his system, but they were quite small and would pass through his system well before the following morning. His physical injuries had actually been minimal. There had been a few bruises, not to mention some marks where Nagi's energy weapon had made contact, but beyond that he appeared to be in remarkably good condition. If nothing else, Heero was certainly a resilient young man, a quality that Washu definitely liked about him.

Confident that any immediate danger was past, Washu turned her attention to the samples she'd collected from him. They'd been put through her collection of scanning devices almost as soon as they'd been taken, so she already had results on the screen. This was the first time she'd gotten to study a human in such detail, and she wanted to make the most of it.

"All right, then," she said, "Let's start with the DNA."

Tapping a few keys on the console, she brought up the sample she sought, along with the results of the analysis…

…and her jaw dropped.

 _No…_

 _That_ can't _be right!_

She quickly ran a diagnostic of the machine that had taken the scan; there _had_ to be a glitch somewhere. The results came back negative, so she ran it again.

And again.

And again.

It took another two tries before she was forced to concede the truth; the device was working flawlessly.

But that didn't make what she was looking at any less world-shattering.

Most of the DNA strand was what she assumed normal human DNA looked like. It wasn't anything too special, but it was still different and unique in the way that only DNA could be, and Washu was mildly intrigued and looking forward to studying it in greater detail later on.

But it wasn't what was different and new that had her attention right now.

It was what was _familiar_ that had her eyes glued to the screen.

It should've been impossible, but her instruments were not lying to her. She knew _exactly_ what she was looking at.

Up until this point, she'd simply seen Heero Yuy as a rather intriguing individual. On a personal level he was a remarkable young man, and physically he was certainly easy on the eyes. Washu had wanted to learn more about him and understand what made him who he was, but she had viewed it as a leisurely study, a side project rather than something to devote the full weight of her genius towards.

That mindset had just flown right out the window.

 _This boy_ , she thought, _No… this young man… does he have_ any _inkling as to what he truly is? Somehow I doubt it…_

One question had been answered.

Now she had countless more.

….

 **October 30** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"He's at it again," Ryoko murmured as she looked out the window.

'He' was naturally Heero, and what he was at again was running laps around the lake. It was just part of a workout routine that he had gotten into the day after the encounter with Nagi. In addition to the running he had also started doing pushups, sit-ups, and squats. He'd also increased the frequency with which he'd been visiting Katsuhito's shrine for sparring matches to the point that it was a daily occurrence.

A ways down the couch from her, Ayeka followed her gaze and sighed. "Goodness, what in the name of Tsunami has gotten into him? He shouldn't be pushing himself like this after that mess with Nagi. If anything, he should take some more time to rest and make sure that he is fully recovered!"

It wasn't often that Ryoko found herself in agreement with Ayeka, but privately she had to admit that the royal brat was right. Heero really should've been taking it easy rather than working up a sweat like this. This wasn't just a regular exercise routine; there was an intensity behind it that had her concerned.

"He's not that kind of guy," said Washu as she walked into the room.

"What do you mean?" asked Sasami.

"His cage was rattled," Washu replied as she sat down on the couch and took a sip from her cup of tea, "Nagi beat him, and even if she thought he put up a good fight I bet it was still pretty one-sided. He can't sit still after something like that, so he's training."

Ryoko shook her head. "It won't do him much good. I mean sure, Heero's a pretty tough guy, but Nagi's just out of his league. It doesn't matter how much he trains; he can't match her, especially when it comes to technology."

Washu nodded. "I think he's aware of that, too. He still feels like he has to do something to make up for that gap, though."

"Miss Washu," said Ayeka, "is it truly all right for him to be exerting himself like this? I understand that what Nagi drugged him with wasn't life threatening, but even so…"

Washu shrugged. "He's in no danger, although I'd prefer that he take it easy for another day or two just to be on the safe side. I doubt he'd listen to me if I said as much to him, though."

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah. He can be pretty stubborn sometimes."

 _It's normally part of his charm_ , she thought as she looked out the window, _but right now all it's doing is making me worry._

It was supposed to be a low-key day, and so far it mostly had been. Kiyone and Mihoshi were currently out on patrol, but everyone else was just lounging around the house. The only exception was Heero, much as it had been for the past few days.

Nagi might be gone, but her presence still lingered. It was felt not just in Heero's new workout routine, but in other ways as well. For one, Ryoko hadn't failed to notice how Washu had taken a keener interest in the young man after their medical exams. Ryoko didn't know what the crazy redhead had in mind, but she doubted that it was anything good.

There was also Ayeka. Not only was she working even harder to find ways to help Heero, but it was now easier than ever for Ryoko to tick her off. The reason was obvious; she was still sore about the bounty on Ryoko's head bringing Nagi down upon them and resulting in Heero's capture. It didn't matter that it had been temporary and Heero had suffered no lasting harm; Ayeka still blamed the entire affair on Ryoko, and it was hard for the pirate to deny that she had a point. It didn't make her any less willing to fight with the princess, but it did give Ayeka more ammunition to use against her.

Heero might still be willing to stick his neck out for her, but that didn't stop the feelings of guilt that persistently clung to Ryoko's heart. He'd gotten hurt because he'd stood up for her, and it would be all too easy for that to happen again; Ryoko had no shortage of enemies, after all. It wasn't like her to get so hung up about something like this; typically she was as selfish and impulsive as they came. The consequences of her actions rarely mattered to her, and collateral damage was hardly something she normally concerned herself with.

But with Heero, it was different.

 _Damn it_ , she thought, _I'm going soft. I don't know why, but when it comes to this guy… I just can't help myself._

She sighed before standing up and heading for the door. Her actions immediately drew the attention of the others, who looked at her curiously.

"Just where do you think you're going?" asked Ayeka as Sasami poured her a fresh cup of tea.

"Outside," she said, "Someone's got to talk some sense into him. Might as well be me."

….

Kneeling at the edge of the lake, Heero cupped some water in his hands and drank. His run was going well; he hadn't pushed himself like this in a while, and he'd worked up a decent sweat.

 _I've become complacent_ , he thought, his mind flashing back to his tangle with Nagi, _I was able to take on Kiyone and Mihoshi before, and it made me overconfident. I can't let that happen again._

The fact that Nagi outmatched him in technology and had trained specifically to fight and capture beings like Ryoko was beside the point. On an intellectual level, Heero had known when he'd challenged Nagi that his odds of winning were almost nonexistent, but for her to have beaten him with seemingly little effort still stung. It didn't matter that she had complimented his abilities even as she defeated him; she had completely outclassed him and given Heero the most one-sided fight that he'd had in a long time.

So here he was, trying to establish a new workout routine to keep himself sharp. Out here his options were limited. There was no firing range for him to practice marksmanship at, and he lacked the advanced combat training facilities that were available at Preventers HQ in the capital. Fortunately Heero was self-sufficient and capable of improvisation. He had already rearmed himself; Nagi may have stolen his knife and pistol, but he'd made sure to have extra weapons sent to the house right after moving in to cover exactly that sort of possibility. His sparring matches with Katsuhito were one way that he'd found to make sure his reflexes never dulled, while the new exercise regimen he had worked up was a good way to maintain his conditioning. However, he doubted that it would do him much good if Nagi returned. She still far outmatched him on the technological level, and if he wanted to stand a chance against her he would have no choice but to rely on his guests for help.

That last part bothered him. Since Heero was charged with watching over Ryoko and the others it felt like it was his duty to protect them when things got dicey. It didn't matter that Ryoko and Ayeka had incredible and unique powers that made them capable combatants in their own right, nor did it matter that Mihoshi and Kiyone were trained officers of the Galaxy Police who could hold their own in a fight. Even Washu didn't strike Heero as entirely defenseless; it was impossible to tell what sort of tricks the legendary mad scientist had up her sleeves. Sasami was really the only one who seemed to require protection, and Heero was sure that Ayeka would have Azaka and Kamidake focus on defending her younger sister if it came down to it. He was surrounded by women whose gifts and skills made them quite formidable in a fight, and yet he remained determined to be their first line of defense.

 _Old habits die hard_ , he mused, _I'm still not quite used to being responsible for people with abilities like theirs. It's hard to shake the mindset that I have to be the one that handles the fighting._

As a Gundam pilot he'd been used to fighting alone. Even after encountering his fellow colonial freedom fighters it had at first been difficult to coordinate action with them. Sure, eventually he and his fellow Gundam pilots had gotten used to working together, especially during the latter part of the war, but it was hard for Heero to extend that sort of trust beyond people like Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. Now here he was, surrounded by women who would make his friends' jaws drop if they demonstrated their powers to them, and he was still determined to handle their defense on his own.

"Looks like you could use a break," said a familiar female voice from behind him.

He turned around and saw Ryoko standing there. "I'm fine."

She shook her head. "No, you're not."

"I know my limits," said Heero, a little more forcefully than he'd intended, "This is nothing."

"Maybe normally," Ryoko replied, "I know that you're in shape, but that's not the point. Not this time."

"Then what is?" asked Heero.

"You should still be taking it easy," said Ryoko as she stepped forward, "I know Washu said that whatever Nagi drugged you with was probably out of your system by now, but that doesn't mean you should be pushing yourself like this. You need to rest more, Heero!"

"No, I don't," said Heero, " _This_ is what I need, Ryoko. I think I know what my body requires better than you do."

Ryoko sighed. "I like you, Heero, but sometimes you really are a stubborn bastard, you know that?"

Heero raised an eyebrow; this was the first time he'd heard Ryoko talk to him like this. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like!" said Ryoko, sounding more than a little exasperated, "Heero, I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work. Just because you start working out more doesn't mean that you'll be able to take on Nagi the next time she shows up!"

Heero shook his head. "Who said that I'm trying to match her?"

"I do!" she cried, "Heero, you can't do that! I know that you're strong, but going up against her is a fight you can't win! She went easy on you this time, but if you try to take her on again she might take the gloves off next time. Heero, you could get yourself killed!"

"My duty is to watch over you and the others," he replied firmly, "If that means putting my life on the line, then so be it. That's my mission."

"It's not _worth_ your life!" Ryoko protested, "Heero, do you have any idea what it would do to the rest of us if you died protecting us? None of us could live with that! _I_ couldn't live with that!"

"Ryoko…" he said softly, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

He knew that she cared about him, but he'd never seen her as concerned over his well-being as this. It was such a stark contrast to the normally selfish and laid-back side of her that he was used to seeing. Heero was well aware that there was more to Ryoko than that, but for her to display such genuine compassion and worry was really something else.

He looked down, ashamed that he was stressing her out like this. "What would you have me do? I appreciate your concern for me, Ryoko, but I have my mission and I'm not going to abandon it just because the threats we might face outmatch me."

She actually smiled. "I know, and I'm not asking you to. Believe it or not, I really do appreciate how willing you've been to stick up for me like this, no matter how much trouble it causes you. You've got some serious guts, Heero. It takes a ton of courage to pick a fight with Nagi like you did. I just don't want you to get into a fight like that _alone_. I want to help you, Heero… and I'm not the only one."

"On that, you are quite correct," said another familiar female voice.

Looking past Ryoko, Heero saw Ayeka approaching them.

"Sir Heero," she continued, "although I personally do not feel that Ryoko is deserving of such protection, the bravery and gallantry that you have shown in defending her speaks to great nobility within you. It is my great honor to know that you would demonstrate such qualities in defending someone under your charge, and I am sure that you would show that same dedication and valor in protecting me as well. That being said, I cannot in good conscience allow you to throw yourself into fights that you have no hope of winning on your own."

Ryoko folded her arms. "I can't believe you and I actually agree on something."

"A rarity, I assure you of that," Ayeka shot back, "Sir Heero, forgive me, but from this moment onwards I insist that you refrain from taking on adversaries from beyond your world alone. Any battles such as these must at the very least include Ryoko and myself; I refuse to allow you to put yourself in such danger without proper support!"

"Is that how things are done in the Empire?" asked Heero, "From what I understand, I thought guardians like Azaka and Kamidake were supposed to take action before a royal like yourself gets involved in a fight."

"Azaka and Kamidake are a valuable first line of defense," Ayeka replied, "but I am more than capable of aiding you in battle, and it is far from unusual for a member of the Royal Family to partake in combat. More to the point, we are not in the Empire now. I am a guest on your world, and it would be horrific form for me to allow my host to risk his life on my behalf when I am perfectly capable of rendering assistance!"

"In other words, we'd both feel like crap if you got yourself hurt or killed because of us," said Ryoko with a smirk, "We're not asking you to stop fighting; I'm pretty sure I can speak for both of us when I say that we like how you're will to stick your neck out for us. We just want you to let us help you out instead of trying to handle every new enemy alone."

Heero looked out over the lake. "It's not that easy. I'm used to fighting on my own."

"Is that because… of your past as a member of the colonial rebellion?" asked Ayeka nervously.

Heero nodded. "Yes, as well as my normal operations with Preventers. I typically handle solo ops."

 _Infiltration, assassination, sabotage_ , he silently added, _They're not exactly group activities…_

Ryoko patted him on the shoulder. "Well, this is different. You've got some pretty powerful ladies backing you up here, so why don't you let us pick up some of the slack? We owe you that much for all the trouble we've caused you."

"Indeed," said Ayeka with a smile, "You needn't handle ever new threat on your own, Sir Heero… and you needn't push yourself so hard as if our defense rests solely on your shoulders."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "What she's trying to say is that you don't need to exercise to the point that you pass out just because Nagi beat you in a fight. You're already plenty strong as it is, Heero. There's no shame in you losing to her. Hell, it was pretty tough for _me_ to beat her, and her and I have been fighting each other for years now. She's as persistent as Ayeka!"

"I'm going to ignore that," said Ayeka as she folded her arms, "Sir Heero, exercise is all well and good, but what you are trying to do with this new workout routine goes beyond that. Forgive me, but I do not care if you think that it is within your limitations; you cannot continue to push yourself like this every single day. It is not healthy!"

"Exactly," said Ryoko, "Heero, you need to ease up on yourself! If you want to train and keep in shape that's fine, but you need some downtime too. You're not going to do us any good if you burn yourself out!"

Heero sighed. "So you just want me continue on as though my loss to Nagi never happened? If I'm not stronger the next time we face an enemy like her then I'll be just as useless as I was this time. I can't accept that."

"And we are not asking you to," said Ayeka, "Sir Heero, even if you lack the powers that Ryoko and I possess, I assure you that you are far from useless in a fight. You proved that in our initial encounter with Mihoshi; it was thanks to your cunning that we were able to capture and disarm her."

Ryoko smiled. "She's right. You're quick on your feet, Heero, and you're pretty sharp. I bet that's why Nagi was willing to compliment you; she recognized your talent."

"Indeed," said Ayeka, "and that talent of yours is invaluable. By yourself, you may not be able to match the kinds of foes that come from beyond your star system, but if you work with Ryoko and me then I truly believe that your gifts will be more than useful in such a situation."

"Exactly," said Ryoko, "We'd make a really good team, Heero. You just have to be willing to let us get our hands dirty."

Heero took a moment to study the two women before him. Their desire to help him truly was sincere, and he honestly wasn't quite sure how to react to it. Would it really be so wrong to rely on them more in the event of another crisis? Wouldn't he still be fulfilling his mission objectives even if he let them put their lives on the line should another enemy appear?

 _I don't know how_ , he thought, unable to suppress a small smile, _but it seems I've stumbled across some extraordinary women…_

"All right," he said finally, "If the two of you are really sure about this… then I won't try to handle things myself next time there's trouble. I'll come find you two, and whatever the situation is we'll deal with it together."

Ayeka smiled and sighed with relief. "Thank goodness."

Ryoko put her arm around him. "You won't regret it, Heero. Trust me."

Heero nodded. "Okay."

"Now," said Ayeka, "why don't we head inside? The weather may be pleasant right now, but that does not change the fact that you should still be taking it easy, Sir Heero."

"Yeah," said Ryoko, "besides, you're missing Sasami's tea. It's pretty good."

Heero chuckled. "She's worried too, isn't she?"

"We all are," said Ryoko, "and you sitting down and relaxing with the rest of us will make everyone feel better."

"Quite true," said Ayeka.

Heero nodded. "All right. Let's go."

….

 **November 1** **st** **, A.C. 198**

Sitting down on the wooden patio, Kiyone smiled as the cool autumn breeze gently caressed her face and hair. "Ah, this is the life! I'm so glad we took today off."

It was strange how much she was starting to enjoy her quiet post on Earth. Sure, the patrols she and Mihoshi had to fly through the Sol System were some of the dullest of their career, but it was nice that they had such a pleasant planet to come back to at the end of the workday. Maybe the homeworld of humanity was way out in the galactic backwoods, but in a way that remoteness was something of a benefit. It simply felt _calmer_ out here than other parts of the galaxy, especially when compared to the hustle and bustle of the Core Systems and Galaxy Police Headquarters. Of course, part of that was probably due to the fact that the house she was staying at was out in the countryside.

It was early afternoon, and the household had just wrapped up lunch. Mihoshi had wasted no time in getting sucked into another one of those crime dramas that she had become addicted to since her arrival on this planet, and while Kiyone could sometimes appreciate their appeal at the end of the day they just weren't her thing. Since she was an actual cop it was just too hard for her to resist critiquing everything that the shows just made up about police procedure. Granted, her only experience in how law enforcement officers on Earth conducted themselves was with Heero, but even with that limited exposure she was pretty sure that police on this planet had to do much more paperwork than what was shown in the hour-long episodes.

 _I guess that's one of the downsides of working the beat_ , she mused, _I just can't enjoy shows like that the way I used to when I was a kid._

That wasn't to say that she was completely uninterested in incredible variety of television shows that humans apparently spent many hours watching. Everyone in the household seemed to have found at least a handful that they enjoyed, and Kiyone was no exception. The history programs she had found were rather engaging, especially since she was rather keen to learn more about the kind of world she was operating from now. There were also a few fantasy dramas that Kiyone had become fond of, although they were a little too dark for her partner's taste. If given a few cups of sake, she would even admit that a rather old one had become a personal favorite of hers, although she had become upset when her favorite male character had been killed towards the end of the first season.

 _Poor Ned_ , she thought with a rueful smirk, _It really doesn't pay to be honorable in Westeros, does it?_

"Care for some company?" asked a familiar male voice from behind her.

She looked up and saw Heero standing in the middle of the open sliding doorway. He was holding two cups of team, wisps of steam wafting up from them.

Kiyone smiled. "Sure, especially if one of those is for me."

Heero nodded as he sat down and passed one of the cups to her. "Compliments of Sasami. She's getting even better at making tea."

Kiyone took a sip and closed her eyes, savoring the flavor. "Can't argue with that."

She then turned to him. "So, what you brings you out here? Not that I mind hanging out with you, but what's the occasion?"

He nodded over his shoulder. "I need a little break from the… festivities."

Following his gaze, Kiyone couldn't suppress a giggle as she saw Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi fighting over the remote. "You're not going to step in?"

"I'm sitting this one out," he replied as he took a sip.

"Are you sure?" she asked, "Things could escalate."

Heero shook his head. "Not this time. I've seen enough of their fights to know when they'll keep it low key. A few sparks might fly, but it won't go past that."

Kiyone nodded. "Well, I trust you. You do seem to have a pretty good handle on the three of them."

"I've had plenty of practice," said Heero, and Kiyone thought she detected a hint of amusement in his voice.

Kiyone laughed. "No kidding. If things were different I'd recommend you to my superiors as a hostage negotiator. You've certainly got the patience for that kind of work."

"Maybe," said Heero, "but I lack the diplomatic talent needed for a role like that."

Kiyone shook her head. "I disagree. You read people pretty well; that's half of the job right there."

"It's still not my thing," said Heero, "I know the scope of my abilities. I'm the guy that's called in when negotiations break down and my superiors need things resolved before a massacre happens."

"Has that happened often?" asked Kiyone, more than a little curious.

"Even once is too often for situations like those," said Heero grimly, "Let me put it this way; if I'm called in, it usually means there's going to be a body count before the night's over."

Kiyone winced; she hadn't meant for the conversation to go dark like that. "I see…"

Heero shrugged as he indulged in his tea. "That's why I'm actually enjoying this new assignment; I don't have to kill anyone. It's not the kind of mission that I'm used to, but if it means there's no bloodshed then I'm perfectly fine with it."

Kiyone smiled. "That's a good way to look at it. I'm impressed; most young men in the Galaxy Police want to get put on the assignments where they'll see the most action, regardless of the danger or whether or not they might have to use lethal force. You're much more restrained and mature when compared to them."

Heero sighed. "The ones who crave action likely haven't had much experience with actual combat. If they knew what it really meant then they would think twice."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," said Kiyone, "Combat, I mean. Based on what I've heard from the others it sounds like you've seen some serious fighting, although you didn't really tell them all that much. Are you ex-military?"

"Not in the usual sense," Heero replied, "I wasn't part of a formal military, but I did take part in a war. With regards to my current employers, you could say that Preventers is somewhere between a police force and a military. I'm not the only combat veteran who's part of the organization; a lot of our members used to be soldiers, although lately recruitment efforts have trended towards drawing more people from traditional police forces into our ranks."

Kiyone nodded. "I understand. The Galaxy Police is similar in that respect. We're not an official military, although in terms of numbers and firepower we're pretty similar to one. However, we're not your run-of-the-mill cops either. I guess it's kind of a hybrid organization, really."

"How do you handle recruitment?" he asked, "Mihoshi didn't strike me as ex-military, and while you're more professional than her you lack that vibe too. I also don't think that she was a cop before joining the Galaxy Police."

"You're right about that," said Kiyone, "The Galaxy Police casts a pretty wide net when it comes to recruiting. Sure, they scout talent from planetary police forces and look for applicants with former law enforcement or military experience, but the majority of newcomers to the Academy are actually completely green. For many people across the galaxy, our organization is their first experience in being part of a law enforcement agency."

"How do you screen applicants?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing, "If you just let anyone get into the Academy wouldn't your system be overrun?"

Kiyone smiled, pleased to see how quickly he'd identified a potential problem; he was definitely sharper than she'd thought when she'd first met him. "There are a series of physical and academic tests that applicants have to go through before they're accepted into the academy. We also look for promising students by reviewing transcripts and aptitude evaluations potential trainees would have taken in school. That's how I got scouted initially; I was at the top of my class, and the screening tests after that were easy for me."

Heero nodded. "I bet. I could tell when we fought that you had a lot of talent. I think you'd do pretty well in Preventers."

That was high praise indeed, coming from him. "Thanks!"

"Sure," Heero replied, "So, what's your ultimate career ambition? You're not the type that would settle for patrol postings out in the galactic backwoods, after all."

Kiyone chuckled. "You're right about that. Well, if my career ever regains upward momentum, I'd like to get into the Special Tactics Division."

"What's that?" asked Heero, looking genuinely curious.

"Think of it as like your Preventers organization, but as a subdivision of the Galaxy Police," said Kiyone, "They don't handle small cases. Their missions focus mainly on counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, storming fortified locations, and deep cover operations. The Special Tactics Division has branches located across the galaxy so they can respond to a crisis at a moment's notice, and they often work closely with Jurai's military. If they can't get a job done, then that means the situation's typically at a point where the Empire's going to deploy the Imperial Fleet."

"In other words," said Heero, "they're one of the last options before a crisis turns into a full scale war."

Kiyone nodded. "Pretty much. The Empire's got their own special forces that they deploy for similar situations, but often they'll let the Galaxy Police dispatch a team first; it looks better to have our organization try to resolve the situation before bringing in the military."

"That makes sense," said Heero, "I imagine that there are plenty of regions out there that would resent direct interference from the Empire. In cases like that, the Galaxy Police can act as an intermediary."

Kiyone smiled. "Exactly. The Empire of Jurai may be the most powerful nation in the galaxy, but even they recognize that they can't throw their weight around with reckless abandon. Relying too much on shows of force from the Imperial Fleet breeds resentment, especially among the Outer Systems who have grievances with the capital. A response from the Galaxy Police rather than the military can help keep things cool."

"What if the Empire decides to make a move in a situation where the Galaxy Police normally have jurisdiction?" asked Heero.

Kiyone sighed. "Unfortunately, the Empire would be able to overrule us. We have a good working relationship with them, but that doesn't change the fact that they outgun us by a ridiculous degree. Jurai is also a source of funding for the Galaxy Police; they support us with a portion of the revenues collected by the Imperial Treasury. They're not our only source of income, but pissing them off and loosing that revenue stream wouldn't do us any favors. In short, if the Emperor wants something, the Galaxy Police doesn't have much room to oppose him."

"Sounds like your organization's compromised," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "You can't be a completely neutral arbitrator if the Empire's holding your purse strings."

Kiyone shook her head. "The Empire may have some leverage on us, but they still respect our autonomy and reputation. I know that it's not a perfect system, but it has helped keep the peace for thousands of years. Our partnership is mutually beneficial; Jurai supports our operations, and we stop brushfires from becoming a larger conflict. Without this arrangement the Empire would be putting down rebellions across the galaxy with military force on a regular basis. The cost in lives and capital would be enormous, and long-term it would threaten the Empire's very survival. Our role in preserving galactic order is recognized and honored by the Royal Family, to the point that we even have representatives in the palace court."

"But that status ultimately depends on who holds the throne, right?" asked Heero, "If a particular Emperor or Empress was hostile towards the Galaxy Police, they could ignore or remove whatever influence you may have in Jurai and use the power of the fleet to enact whatever agenda they desire."

"That wouldn't happen!" Kiyone protested, "Any sane ruler would recognize the value of our partnership. The Emperor or Empress who decided to cast us aside would be sowing the seeds of their eventual ruin! With us out of the picture galactic order would inevitably collapse!"

Heero nodded. "I'm not arguing with you there. I'm simply pointing out a potentially fatal flaw in the system. Perhaps the current Emperor and past monarchs have honored and valued the alliance between Jurai and the Galaxy Police, but you have no way to guarantee a potential shift in the attitude of whoever sits on the throne. That's the danger of autocracies; everything ultimately comes down to the individual at the top of the pyramid. If they're not of a rational and benevolent mindset, then the door is open to tyranny and misery."

Kiyone closed her eyes. She hadn't really thought too much about the Galaxy Police's arrangement with the Empire of Jurai until now. Her instructors in the academy had always stressed the value of what was termed the 'special relationship' between Jurai and the Galaxy Police, and the arrangement between the two bodies had been in place for so long that it was considered more or less a fact of life. It was really just taken for granted that the Empire would continue to cooperate with the Galaxy Police to keep the peace and that whoever sat on the throne would want to make sure that the 'special relationship' remained in good working order.

When she looked at it the way Heero was describing it, though, it was hard to deny that he had a very good point. The continued functioning of the whole system hinged upon whoever sat upon the throne of Jurai. Since the Royal Family was quite strict about the qualities it expected from whoever would ascend to the throne there hadn't been much concern on the part of the Galaxy Police as to whether or not a potential new monarch would be fit to rule. Indeed, succession was always considered to be an internal affair that the Galaxy Police was not to exert any influence over whatsoever. There were no real checks or balances against an Emperor or Empress who did not have the interest of the people or the current galactic order at heart. If a tyrant took the reins then there was nothing the Galaxy Police could do to resist them short of armed insurrection.

"Kiyone," said Heero, causing her to open her eyes and look at him again, "if the ruler of Jurai acted against the Galaxy Police and their subjects, what would your organization do about it? What would _you_ do about it?"

She looked down. "I… I don't know. What you're talking about… it's without precedent. The Empire and the Galaxy Police have existed for millennia, but nothing like what you're describing has ever taken place. The closest that I can think of would be the Imperial Civil War, but that was several subordinate branches of the Royal Family trying to overthrow the main branch. In that crisis the Galaxy Police remained loyal to the main branch and helped them hold the throne. The subordinate branches weren't revolting because of any abuses of power on the part of the main branch; they simply wanted to rule the Empire themselves. It was a rebellion sparked by petty jealousy and the lust for power, not a noble revolt against a tyrant."

"Perhaps," said Heero, "but there's no guarantee that it would be the same way in the future. From what Ayeka's told me, the Empire of Jurai is an overall benevolent power, but it's still an absolute monarchy. If it ceased to be a force for good in the galaxy, would your superiors go along with it? If they did, would you follow them or stand against them?"

"Those are questions that I hope to never have to answer," Kiyone replied somberly, "I really can't say more than that, Heero."

Heero nodded. "I understand. It's not easy choosing to go against the power of a ruling government, especially one that you've been loyal to in the past. I hope that you'll never be confronted with that choice."

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Did _you_ face that choice?"

"Yes and no," he said, "I _did_ face off against this world's rulers in the past, but I had no past loyalty to them. After all, I was from the colonies that they lorded over so ruthlessly. Later on in the war, though, I also ended up fighting against colonial rebels as well. Both sides were twisted by the desire for power and revenge. Ultimately it was the regular people of Earth _and_ the colonies that faced the greatest threat from our war, and in the final campaign it was them that my allies and I sought to protect."

"Wait a minute," said Kiyone, "You took on _both_ sides?"

Heero nodded. "Yes. Elements of the colonial rebellion became as brutal as those they sought to liberate the colonies from. Their plans evolved to the point that they would've slaughtered countless innocent people to achieve their ends. I couldn't support that, so I opposed them. It wouldn't be the last time, either."

She waited for a moment, but he didn't elaborate. Kiyone supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised; whenever the topic of his past came up, Heero rarely went into detail. A vague response was what he typically gave before waiting for the others to give up and move on to a different subject. Of course, that simply made Kiyone want to know more about what he'd experienced in the past, and she knew that she wasn't the only one of the girls living with him that felt that same curiosity. What he had just said was actually considerably more than what he'd offered in the past; he must've been feeling a little more generous than normal. Perhaps it was his way of returning the favor for her telling him more about the Galaxy Police.

"Well," she said, "you seem to have come through it all no worse for the wear. I'm sure the global government is glad to have you on their side now."

"I imagine they are," Heero replied, "and as long as this government continues to protect the peace and serve the people of both Earth and the colonies, it'll stay that way. If that changes down the line, I'll do what I must to make them correct their course."

Kiyone smiled. "It sounds like you don't have any doubts at all about taking them on if you have to. You've got some real courage and conviction, you know that?"

Heero shook his head. "Hardly. It's simply the path I know best."

 _He's way too casual about this_ , she thought, _It's like fighting is second nature to him. Just what the hell did he see and do in his war?_

Before she could ask she heard a soft buzzing coming from Heero's pocket. The young man reached in and pulled out his phone, checked the caller identification and answered.

"This is Heero," he said, "What's up, Sally?"

He was quiet for a moment while his superior spoke. Since it wasn't on speaker Kiyone couldn't hear what Sally was saying, but from the way Heero's eyes narrowed it looked like it was important.

"Can you send pictures?" he asked a few seconds later.

He was silent again for a little bit before his phone buzzed again. She saw him remove the phone from his ear and flip it sideways. Looking over Heero's shoulder, Kiyone's eyes widened when she saw the picture on the screen.

It was an image of a small lake, one that was probably just slightly bigger than the one in front of the house they were currently staying at. It was pretty, although nothing too special in and of itself. However, what really grabbed Kiyone's attention was what was at the center of the lake. She could see what appeared to be a small tree growing out of the middle of the body of water.

 _Is that what I_ think _it is?_

She lost sight of the picture a second later when Heero brought the phone back to his ear. "All right. I can ask Ayeka about it; I imagine she'll have a pretty good idea as to what that's about. How is Sasami's ship doing?"

There was silence for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I see. That makes sense; hers wasn't underwater, after all. So, what do you want to do?"

He was quiet again for a minute or so before speaking again. "Are you sure about that? I would've thought that the Director would be against that."

Kiyone watched intently as he listened to whatever Sally's reply was before talking. "Well, I suppose that would be possible."

He then glanced over at her before speaking again. "Yes, it can work. I have someone in mind that can handle it."

Kiyone was puzzled and could only continue to listen as he wrapped up his conversation with his superior. "Okay, I'll start making arrangements. We should be able to head out tomorrow morning. Heero, out."

He ended his call and immediately turned to Kiyone. "I need a favor."

 _I have a bad feeling about this…_

….

Ayeka's eyes widened when she saw the picture on Heero's phone, and she couldn't help but smile. " _Ryu-Oh!_ She's come so far in such a short time!"

It was a great relief to see that her ship's recovery process had reached the point where the Royal Tree within now breached the surface of Lake Genval. To Ayeka's knowledge, instances of ships with Royal Trees crashing in bodies of water were quite rare, so she had been more than a little apprehensive as to how the lake might affect _Ryu-Oh_. Based on the photographic evidence Heero had provided her, though, it appeared that her fears had been misplaced.

 _It's further along than I thought_ , she mused, _I can't believe it's already breaching the surface of the lake. This is wonderful!_

Of course, the Royal Tree at the heart of _Ryu-Oh_ still had a very long way to go before it would be ready to serve as the core of a ship again. This was one of the downsides of the vessels used by the Royal Family; they were incredibly powerful, but if severely damaged it could take quite a long time before they would be prepared to fly again.

Looking up, she saw Heero nod. "I thought so. So this is something that's supposed to be happening."

"Oh, yes!" said Ayeka, "I expected it would eventually. Forgive me, Sir Heero; I realize now that a tree popping up in the middle of a lake so close to your world's capital is probably something of an inconvenience. I really should've given you more warning."

Heero shook his head. "No, you're fine. You did tell us that your ship had a special healing process, after all. We really should've done more to prepare for it eventually breaching the surface of the lake."

"What about my ship?" asked Sasami, "Is it okay?"

"From what I understand," said Heero, "it's doing fine. The tree from your ship has put down roots and is growing well. It was Ayeka's that really caught our attention, though; we never imagined we'd see it do something quite like this."

"What excellent news!" said Azaka.

"I'm so glad that both Royal Trees are doing well!" chimed Kamidake.

"Mind if I take a look?" asked Washu.

Heero nodded and passed the phone over to her. Ayeka saw the infamous scientist's brow furrow for a moment as she studied the image.

"Fascinating," she said as she handed the phone back to him, "I always knew these trees were resilient, but this is really something else. I wouldn't mind the chance to study it up close, although given its proximity to the capital I guess that's out of the question as well."

"Guess again," said Heero, "We're heading out tomorrow; my superiors want your take on this development."

Washu's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah. It's not just you, either. Ayeka, you're coming along too; Sally wants you to see it up close since you have a connection with it."

Ayeka could hardly restrain herself. "Are you serious? Oh, how wonderful! It'll be so good to see your world's capital again!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Hey, what about me? Don't I get to come along on this little trip of yours, Heero?"

Heero shook his head. "Sorry, but Washu and Ayeka are the only ones that are coming to the capital with me."

Ryoko's eyes practically bulged out of her head. "What? You can't be serious!"

"Why don't I get to come along?" asked Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, sounding more than a little disappointed.

"That's not fair!" pouted Mihoshi.

Kiyone shrugged and looked at Heero. "I told you they'd react like this."

"I was more or less expecting it," he replied.

"Hold on a moment," said Ayeka, "Detective Makibi, how did _you_ know about this before the rest of us?"

Kiyone smiled. "Heero was sitting outside with me when Sally called him."

Ryoko scowled at her. "And just what were you two doing outside alone together?"

"Talking," Heero replied casually, "Why?"

Ayeka eyed Kiyone, more than a little suspicious. The Detective hadn't displayed any overt signs of romantic interest in Heero, but then again Ayeka hadn't considered her a threat before and so she had neglected to observe her. Was the Galaxy Police officer positioning herself to become another rival for the young man's affections?

 _She is not like Mihoshi_ , she thought, _and while she is not fiendish like Ryoko, I would wager that she possesses plenty of cunning. Detective Makibi, if you are to be my adversary in the arena of love, then just how formidable a foe shall you prove to be?_

She saw Kiyone smirk at the pirate. "Hey, you were busy fighting the others for the remote, and Heero wanted some peace. You sent him right out to me, really."

"Why, you little…" Ryoko growled.

"Now, now," said Mihoshi nervously, "Try not to fight, you two. It's bad enough when you argue with Ayeka, Ryoko. You don't need to fight Kiyone too!"

"I will if she gives me a reason to," Ryoko grumbled.

"That's enough," said Heero firmly, "I need you both to get along, especially since I'm leaving Kiyone in charge while I go to the capital with Ayeka and Washu."

"Why her?" Ryoko protested, "What makes her so special? I thought you trusted me, Heero!"

"I need someone who's proven that they're responsible and level-headed to keep an eye on things while I'm away," Heero replied, "Of those of you who'll be left back here, Kiyone's proven herself to be the most mature. I'll be giving her a spare phone so she can keep in touch with me, and I expect the rest of you to cooperate with her. Is that clear?"

Ryoko sighed in defeat, but not before shooting one last glare at Kiyone. "Fine."

"Don't worry, Ryoko," said Sasami, "It'll be fun!"

"She's right!" chirped Mihoshi, "Although I still wish that I could go back to Brussels. Heero, can you bring me back some souvenir food?"

"Oh, I'd like some chocolate!" cried Sasami, "Please, Heero!"

"If it's not too much to ask, I wouldn't mind a little something as well," said Kiyone, "I didn't get to experience your world's capital like the rest of them, after all."

"Hey!" snapped Ryoko, "You'd better bring something back for me, too!"

Heero nodded. "I'll keep my eye open for sweets to bring back for you."

Sasami ran forward and hugged him. "You're the best, Heero!"

Ayeka smiled. Her young sister did have a soft spot for sweets, and it was nice to see that Heero was willing to indulge it. Then again, she would expect nothing less from him at this point; he always did his best to be accommodating to his guests.

"Sir Heero," she said, "What time tomorrow shall we be leaving?"

"Our flight's a morning one," Heero replied, "It'll take a bit of time to get to the airport, so we'll have to get up before dawn. Make sure to pack your things and go to bed early tonight."

Ayeka nodded. "I shall."

Washu smiled. "I'll be ready bright and early. There's no way that I'm missing out on this. It should be fun!"

Ayeka heartily agreed with that. Not only would she get the chance to experience the incredible metropolis that was Brussels, but she'd get to do so without Ryoko or any of the others vying with her for her host's attention. Sure, Washu would be along for the ride, but she hadn't been nearly as flirtatious and aggressive as Ryoko; she did not appear to harbor serious intentions of romantic advancement towards the young man. Ayeka would have a clean shot at getting closer to Heero and finding the key to his heart, and she fully intended to take it.

….

 **November 2** **nd** **, A.C. 198**

Washu smiled as she took a sip from her cup of wine. "Not bad. When you said we were flying first class, you weren't kidding, Heero."

She'd initially been a little concerned about the level of accommodations they'd receive on the flight over to Brussels. The primary means of air travel on Heero's world was laughably primitive; jets such as the one they were aboard now had been obsolete for eons. Her opinion of their mode of transportation had thus been a little low at first, but now that they were seated and airborne her mood had shifted considerably.

The aircraft itself was actually rather impressive given how far down it was on the technological scale. It was a large double-decker airliner, with four large jet engines mounted on each wing. Thanks to funding provided by Preventers Heero, Washu and Ayeka were traveling on the upper deck in considerable luxury. The seats were quite comfortable, were cable of reclining, and had foot rests that could extend outwards with the flip of a switch. Cup-holders were built into the arms, and after their successful takeoff the flight attendants had wasted no time in giving Washu and the others drinks to put in them. There were folding tables that swung out from the side of each chair's right arm for each occupant to put food or other items on, small screens were built into the ceiling so passengers could lean back and watch one of the in-flight entertainment programs while listening to the content through headphones provided by the staff, and to top things off there was plenty of room to walk around once the flight attendants had given them the go-ahead. Washu had grabbed the window seat for herself, and she was glad that she had; the view was quite lovely.

"Well," Heero replied as he pulled a book out of his travel bag, "I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself. It's going to be a long flight, so you might as well make yourself at home."

"Our takeoff was quite smooth," said Ayeka as she stretched out in her seat, "I'm glad to see that whoever is piloting this craft appears to be skilled. This is quite an impressive machine. Do you travel this way often, Sir Heero?"

"Only if my organization foots the bill for it," he replied, "Usually I fly economy-class if I take civilian airliners. Most of the time Preventers will provide its own jets for transportation, though."

"Why didn't they do that this time?" asked Washu.

"A Preventers plane at a civilian airport tends to draw attention," said Heero, "Travelling like this helps us keep a lower profile."

Ayeka nodded. "Very wise. Your organization's discretion and discipline is quite impressive. I can think of a few of my own government's agencies that could learn a thing or two from yours."

"I'm sure Director Une would appreciate the praise," said Heero as he flipped a page in his book.

Curious, Washu leaned over to get a look at the title. " _Democracy's Midnight: The Fall of the Weimar Republic_ … what's the Weimar Republic?"

"Technically," said Heero, "Weimar Republic wasn't the real name. Officially it was called the Deutsches Reich, but it became known as the Weimar Republic because its constitution was written in the city of the same name since there was too much unrest in the actual capital to do it there."

Washu nodded. "Okay. You still haven't answered the question."

"Right," said Heero, "It was the democratic government of a nation in central Europe called Germany. This was from the time before the people of our world were brought together into a single unified state."

"From your book's title," said Ayeka cautiously, "I take it this 'Weimar Republic' met a tragic end."

Heero nodded. "It was destroyed from within. The government that followed was known as the Third Reich. It rebuilt the country's armed forces until they were powerful enough to launch a war that consumed the world for six years and killed tens of millions of people. At the end of the war its leaders committed suicide, were captured, tried and executed, or went into hiding."

"Sounds depressing," Washu quipped dryly, "Why read about it?"

"To understand how a democracy can become a dictatorship," Heero replied, "The fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Third Reich is one of the greatest tragedies of human history. Countless lives were lost because the Republic was destroyed from the inside by men who went on to wage a war for global conquest and extermination. In order to avoid repeating the disasters of the past, it's best to study those calamities so we can learn to recognize the signs that fresh ones may be approaching. Only through education and vigilance can we prevent atrocities like those committed by the Third Reich."

He turned another page before continuing. "It's also one of the reasons I agreed to work with Preventers. If this government begins to turn down that dark path, I want to be in a position where I can act to stop it. I won't let this government become the same as the one I fought against."

Washu smiled. It was good to see that her handsome companion wasn't just another government lapdog. He wasn't loyal to politicians or institutions; he had the nerve and principle to do what he felt was right, even if it meant going against the powers that be. At this point, she honestly expected nothing less. More importantly, given the startling new information her scanning devices had provided her after his medical examination, Washu was convinced that the young man sitting next to her was _born_ to be more than a mere agent of the state.

 _He definitely wasn't born to just keep the peace on a backwater planet like this_ , she mused, _I can think of at least a few people in the Empire that would take more than a passing interest in him…_

Ayeka didn't seem to share Washu's approval of Heero's willingness to go against his world's government. "But… did you not swear an oath of loyalty to your organization and the institution that it defends?"

"No," Heero replied casually, "Sally and Director Une knew that I would never have signed on if that kind of oath had been required. They appreciate my talents and trust my judgment; they know that if I've turned against them then the government's taken a very wrong turn somewhere, and they would act to address that. None of us are the type to blindly follow orders and ignore the larger picture. If our government becomes a threat to the peace and freedom of the people then we _will_ act to set things right."

Ayeka looked down, appearing more than a little conflicted. "I… I see."

 _Poor girl_ , thought Washu, _I can't say I'm too surprised, though. She's royalty, after all; unflinching loyalty and obedience to the crown is probably second nature to her. I doubt she can even begin to imagine why someone like Heero might feel compelled to revolt against his superiors…_

In the end she simply shrugged. Whether Ayeka could ever understand that sort of ethical dilemma and the courage it took to go against the established order was really irrelevant. All that mattered to Washu was that Heero understood it and knew exactly how to handle it.

"Well," said Washu, "I hope it never comes to that."

Heero nodded. "As do I."

Letting him get back to his book, Washu took another sip of her wine. She continued to study the young man out of the corner of her eye. The more time she spent with him, the more intriguing he became, and that _wasn't_ including the startling discovery she'd made back in her lab. She was becoming more and more convinced that it hadn't been a coincidence that Ryoko had dragged Heero into the cave where she had slumbered for centuries and had subsequently liberated her. For him to have encountered both her and her daughter, along with two members of Jurai's Royal Family and two officers of the Galaxy Police was something far more than the simple whims of Lady Luck. There was something much more powerful at work here. This boy, whether he realized it or not, had been touched by destiny long before the arrival of Ryoko and Ayeka.

 _I wonder_ , she silently mused, _if this is_ your _doing…_

 _…Tsunami._

….

Ayeka smiled as the flight attendant took her empty meal tray away. "Oh, that was simply superb! Thank you very much, Sir Heero!"

"Don't thank me," Heero replied as he returned the folding table to its previous position and pulled out his book again, "Preventers is paying for all this, so thank Sally when we see her in Brussels."

Ayeka nodded. "I shall."

The accommodations of the aircraft she found herself about continued to amaze her. At what she had believed to be just before the halfway point of their flight the crew had handed out menus and taken orders for lunch. Ayeka had been impressed by the variety of choices that were available given their circumstances, and she had happily indulged in a meal consisting of salmon, rice, shrimp, and a roll on the side.

 _Oh, if only Sasami could have come along_ , she thought wistfully, _I know that she would love every moment aboard this aircraft! Well,_ almost _every moment; she does have difficulty sitting still for prolonged periods of time…_

On the other side of Heero she saw Washu smirk. "If they're paying, we might as well run up a decent bill. I hope that's not the last meal they serve."

"There should be a smaller one a couple hours from now," said Heero, "By the time that comes around we shouldn't be too far from the capital."

"The service has been impeccable," said Ayeka, "I do hope we get the same carrier for our return flight."

Heero nodded. "If Preventers booked us through this company for the trip to Brussels, I imagine that they'll set things up with them again when it's time to head back. Our logistics and travel managers prefer to keep things simple."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. By the way, I meant to ask this earlier, but where shall we be staying during our time in the capital?"

"My place," Heero replied, "It'll be much easier to have the three of us there than to book us at a hotel. Besides, without the others it'll be much roomier."

Ayeka smiled again. "Excellent! I truly did enjoy the time we spent at your apartment; it'll be wonderful to reside there again, even if it's just for a week or so."

"It's that nice, eh?" said Washu, raising an eyebrow.

Ayeka nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, absolutely! The back balcony offers a superb view of the capital, and the interior is very nice."

Washu shrugged. "As long as it's got room for me to set up shop, that's all I care about."

"Just don't make any permanent changes," said Heero, "We're not staying long, after all."

Washu smiled. "Relax, Heero. I won't do anything that'll reduce the property value."

"That's comforting," he quipped dryly as he flipped a page in his book.

The conversation faded there, with Heero getting absorbed in his reading while Washu turned her attention back to the view out the window. For Ayeka, entertainment wasn't hard to find. She'd already watched one of the in-flight programs, and there were magazines tucked into slots built along the sides of the chairs that she could skim through as well. However, Ayeka wasn't interested in either of those options at the moment.

She continued to study Heero, although she was careful to do so discreetly. Their conversation from earlier regarding his book and his reasons for reading it hadn't faded from her mind in the hours since they'd spoken, and she had decidedly mixed feelings about it.

 _He studies the past to protect the future_ , she thought, _I can certainly admire the sentiment, but this particular area, and Sir Heero's intentions regarding his own government… oh, I don't know how to handle this!_

For a peacekeeping officer to go against the nation that he was meant to protect and serve was an alien concept to Ayeka. In the Empire of Jurai, the attitudes held toward such individuals were very clear; they were traitors. There was no room for negotiation on that matter. It didn't matter what they proclaimed their motives to be; if they went against the crown that they were sworn to serve, then nothing less than death was their lot, and it would be a well deserved end. Those who turned against their Emperor were deemed vile and unredeemable characters. They would go to their execution reviled as monsters without a shred of honor and dignity, and none would mourn their passing.

That was the attitude that was ingrained into Ayeka as the crown princess of the Empire, and yet she could not find it within herself to hold Heero in such contempt. She could tell that he had been completely sincere when he had spoken of his willingness to fight against his government should he feel that it had gone down the wrong path. It was not a task that he might undertake in the name of personal ambition and lust for power and glory, but a mission that he would impose upon himself because he truly believed it to be what was best for the people that he ultimately strove to protect. In taking an action that would be deemed inexcusable by her culture he would nonetheless retain his honor and nobility, of that Ayeka had no doubt. In her eyes he would remain a just and valiant young man, which jarred sharply with what she'd been raised to believe. Despite every instinct Ayeka had to the contrary, it was impossible for her to not find his motives _admirable_ and worthy of praise rather than derision.

She was torn, to put it mildly. Her upbringing was at war with everything new that she had learned on this world in the presence of this unique young man. The ideals and norms ingrained into her by her native culture violently clashed with the affection and gratitude that she had towards her host and it was the latter that had the edge. He was no rogue, scoundrel or villain, although the Empire would certainly consider him to be one if he acted on what he considered his duty to do what was right even if it meant turning against his masters. Although he lacked the title, in Ayeka's eyes Heero was truly a knight in every way that counted.

 _How strange_ , she mused, _to find such quality in one whom Jurai would consider a mere commoner. I've met lords and ladies who were not worthy of their inherited titles and never would be, but out here in the galactic backwoods I've found a young man who could put distinguished knights to shame._

The contradictions that surrounded him made Ayeka all the more curious as to what Heero's background truly was. He'd refused to go into meaningful detail beyond the fact that he was once part of his world's colonial rebellion and yet now served the reigning government. She could only begin to imagine what the real story behind it all was, and she found herself desperate for any scrap of information in order to give herself some real context to place the incredible young man into.

Perhaps the time they would be spending together in the capital might give her the opportunity to learn more about him? While Ayeka had initially viewed it as simply a chance to get closer to Heero and turn his affections towards her, this trip also presented the possibility of her discovering key details about his mysterious past and how it had shaped him into the man he now was. She had an opportunity to uncover secrets about Heero that could give her a vital advantage over Ryoko in the battle for his heart, and she would be a fool to waste it.

….

"So this is your old pad, eh?" said Washu, "Not bad."

"Thanks," Heero replied as he shut the door behind them.

Ayeka smiled. "It's good to be back here. I really did miss this place, even if it started to get a little crowded."

Heero actually had missed it too. It wasn't like him to get sentimental over something like a residence, but this apartment had really been his first semi-permanent residence. He hadn't exactly been torn up over relocating to the countryside house in Japan, but it was nice to be back in his old abode, even if it would only be for a little while.

It was actually only late afternoon, and Heero had been mildly surprised when they'd met Sally at the airport and she'd given them a ride straight to his apartment. He'd assumed that his superiors would've wanted him to take Ayeka and Washu straight to Lake Genval, but Sally had told him that investigating _Ryu-Oh's_ tree could wait until tomorrow. Heero certainly wouldn't complain about that. While there had been plenty of advances in jet airliner technology over the years, that didn't change the fact that the flight had still been a long one, and Heero definitely welcomed the chance to rest and recuperate before heading out to the crash site. Before leaving Sally had given him the keys to a black sedan that was parked in the apartment's underground lot; he'd be using that to take Ayeka and Washu to the crash site the next day.

"Ayeka," said Heero, "the room you used before should be ready for you and Washu."

"Save it," Washu replied, nodding at the living room, "I'll just camp on the couch."

"Are you sure?" asked Heero.

Washu nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Well," said Ayeka, "it will be nice to have the room to myself. Sir Heero, I don't suppose there is still food here for us to eat, is there?"

Heero shook his head. "When we moved to the new place I asked Sally to have a crew clean out the apartment so nothing would spoil. We'll have to order out for dinner tonight. I know a place we can stop by for a quick breakfast tomorrow morning before we head to the crash site. Once we're done at the lake we can do a shopping trip and stock up on food for the rest of our stay."

A few minutes later he had unpacked his bag and was back in the living room. Ayeka had done the same, while Washu was idly exploring the apartment. Pulling out his smart phone, Heero called a local pizza company, placed an order, and then turned on the television to pass the time until the food got there.

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka nervously, "when Lady Sally spoke to you regarding _Ryu-Oh_ 's Royal Tree breaching the surface of the lake, did she say whether or not it had caused… _difficulties_ for your organization?"

Heero shook his head. "We've had Lake Genval under watch ever since the crash, and have kept people away from your ship. It's caused some irritation with the locals, but nothing that Preventers can't handle."

Ayeka smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

They spent a few minutes watching the news before Washu joined them. "So, when are we checking out _Ryu-Oh_?"

"Pretty early tomorrow morning," said Heero, "So go to bed early tonight."

Washu nodded. "Got it."

"How long do you think we'll be spending at the lake tomorrow?" asked Ayeka.

Heero shrugged. "I really couldn't say. Sally didn't give me a timetable, so it could be a long day."

"I hope they've got food over there," said Washu.

"There should be a command post set up on the shore," said Heero, "If they're following protocol then they should have food and drink on site. Otherwise, a staff member will probably be sent out at some point to pick up lunch, and maybe dinner depending on how late we're out there."

"It sounds like an efficient system," Ayeka commented.

"It's a pretty basic setup," Heero replied, "but it's flexible and works for most situations. This isn't a crisis scenario, which means things will actually be pretty relaxed on site. At most security personnel will just be working to keep any prying eyes from the media or curious citizens away."

Washu nodded. "Probably for the best. Most people on your planet aren't anywhere near ready for contact with life from beyond this system. You're one of the rare exceptions, Heero."

Heero shrugged. "Whether the people are ready for that kind of knowledge or not isn't my place to say. I've always adapted to survive, so adjusting to you and the others hasn't been that big of a challenge for me."

Ayeka smiled. "Your flexibility in the face of unfamiliar circumstances serves you well, Sir Heero. I'm most grateful that it was you who I first encountered when I arrived on this planet. I doubt anyone else would've handled the situation nearly as well as you did."

Heero couldn't help but smirk as he recalled that fateful day. "I don't know. I _did_ shoot at you when we first met, after all."

"Well, given the circumstances, I've never held that against you!" Ayeka quickly replied, "After all, I did shoot at you as well in that encounter. I do wish that we had met under better conditions, but it all worked out well in the end, didn't it?"

Washu raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I never thought I'd hear _you_ be so flexible over something like that."

"Sir Heero was doing his duty and defending his world when Ryoko and I stumbled into this system," said Ayeka, "I harbor no ill will towards him for that. We all survived the encounter, and that is what matters."

Heero nodded. "You're right."

"I do wish that my ship hadn't crashed and suffered such extensive damage," Ayeka continued, "but she's been healing nicely, and I'll get to check up on it tomorrow. I do hope that Sasami's vessel is doing all right. Will we be inspecting hers at all while we're here?"

"I'm not sure," said Heero, "From what Sally told me it sounds like we'll just be focusing on yours. You can ask her tomorrow when we head out to the crash site."

"What _I'd_ like to see," said Washu with a smile, "is the place your organization calls home. Any chance of us swinging by Preventers HQ while we're here, Heero?"

Heero shook his head. "I don't see why we would need to go there. The reason we're here is at the lake, not at HQ. If Director Une or Sally wants us to go there then they'll tell us."

Washu sighed. "Fine. I'll just have to find some other way to amuse myself."

"Knowing you, I'm sure you won't have a problem with that," muttered Ayeka.

Washu's eyes narrowed. "You trying to say something, Ayeka?"

Ayeka's face paled. "Oh, no, nothing at all! It's just your imagination!"

Heero couldn't help but feel slightly amused by the exchange. If there was anyone that seemed to be able to inspire fear in Ayeka or Ryoko, it was Washu. The memory of their initial meeting and the 'frog incident' always seemed to be lingering at the back of their minds. As far as Heero was concerned, it was good to see that for all of the power Ayeka and Ryoko possessed there was still someone out there who could trump them, or at least intimidate them. Of course, he would rather avoid a repeat of the 'frog incident' altogether; who knew what it would take to convince Washu to change them back to their original forms if it happened again? He hoped he wouldn't have to find the answer the hard way.

The talent that Washu had displayed so far, combined with the reaction Kiyone had had when she had first realized Heero was sheltering her, did raise some serious questions. Heero had done his best to find answers for them during his one-on-one interview with Washu, but the knowledge he had won had plenty of gaps in it. At the heart of the matter was one overarching concern; why had she been confined and exiled in the first place? What had she done that had warranted that sort of sentence? Had she made a discovery that threatened the ruling powers in the galaxy, or had she constructed something that had terrified them and pushed them to extreme action? The possibilities were endless, and Heero was all too aware that the answer could potentially have consequences for Earth. However, he doubted Washu would be forthcoming about the real reasons behind her imprisonment and exile anytime soon.

 _As long as she continues to cooperate_ , he thought, _nothing else matters. If we get through this trip without a major incident then I'll consider it a success._

 _Of course, it's never that easy whenever_ these _ladies are involved…_

….

 **November 3** **rd** **, A.C. 198**

"We're here," said Heero as he parked the car and turned off the engine.

In the passenger seat next to him, Ayeka smiled. They'd gotten up early, just like he'd said that they would, but she wasn't tired in the least. She imagined that their breakfast had something to do with it; Heero had taken them to some place called a 'pancake house', and the food there had been absolutely superb. Thanks to that Ayeka was in a good mood and ready to tackle whatever the day threw at her.

"All right!" said Washu from the back seat, sounding rather excited, "Let's get to it!"

Following Heero's lead, Ayeka and Washu exited the car and headed towards a group of what appeared to be a few dozen people. They had set up shop next to a series of docks where a few small boats were docked. A cluster of portable awnings had been set up, and beneath them were tables, folding chairs, and what to Ayeka's eyes appeared to be computers and other scientific equipment. A woman detached herself from the crowd, and Ayeka immediately recognized her.

"Lady Sally!" she said, "It's good to see you again!"

"Thanks," Sally replied with a smile, "You're looking well, Ayeka. Very professional."

Ayeka had Heero to thank for that. She was actually wearing what was considered on his world to be business attire. The outfit was a crisp, dark grey pants suit that Heero had actually bought for her back while they were still residing in the capital, but she had never had the occasion to actually wear it. Washu wore a similar outfit, although in her case she had actually fabricated it overnight while Heero and Ayeka had been asleep. The two of them hadn't even bothered to ask how Washu had created it; they didn't need to hear more bragging about how she was 'the greatest scientific genius in the universe.' As for Heero, he was just wearing his Preventers jacket over his usual attire.

Ayeka bowed. "Thank you. Sasami sends her regards; she wishes that she could've come out here to visit you."

Sally nodded. "Sorry about that. For security's sake, we wanted your group to be kept as small as possible."

Ayeka shook her head. "Oh, it's not trouble; I understand completely. Your organization did a superb job with our travel arrangements, so I have no complaints."

Washu smirked. "I'm surprised you wanted _me_ included with the group. You guys must really be desperate!"

Sally sighed. "Well, I can't argue with that. The truth is, all of this is far beyond anything we've ever seen before. It's just one surprise after another when it comes to your ship, Ayeka."

"Can we see it for ourselves?" asked Heero.

"Of course," said Sally, "A boat's already been prepped. Come with me."

The three of them followed her towards the docks. As they walked through the operations area Ayeka was keenly aware of the assembled scientists, aides, and security guards watching her and Washu. She felt a little uncomfortable at being the subject of such scrutiny and picked up her pace a little as a result.

Sally seemed to pick up on her discomfort. "Sorry about this. They all knew that what crashed here wasn't from this world, but they weren't really told what to expect regarding you or Washu."

Ayeka shook her head. "Oh, no, it's fine. As a member of Jurai's Royal Family, I'm used to drawing the attention of others."

Washu shrugged. "I don't care what they think of me. I'm just here to check out _Ryu-Oh_."

Sally smiled. "You'll get your chance shortly."

A few minutes later they were at the dock. Ayeka saw an inflatable boat with an outboard motor attached to it waiting for them. There was a tube-like device sitting in the middle of it, along with a small monitor, but otherwise it was empty. She felt a little nervous as she looked at the craft; was this thing really a safe mode of transportation?

Sally hopped down into the craft without hesitation and took up position by the motor. "Come on; get in."

Washu smiled. "Wow. This thing's so primitive it's practically a novelty. I'm game!"

She entered the craft, and was followed by Heero. He then turned and held his hand out to her.

"Come on," he said, "It's safe, I promise."

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "All right."

She reached out and carefully took his hand. His grip was strong but surprisingly gentle, and as he pulled her forward he put his free hand on her waste to steady her as she came into the boat. Even so, she couldn't entire keep her balance; the floor of the boat seemed depressed as her feet touched it, and she slipped forward. Her face went right into Heero's chest, but thanks to him she didn't completely fall over.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She looked up at him and felt a surge of heat rush to her head; her face was mere centimeters from his. "Oh… yes. Thank you, Sir Heero!"

 _What has gotten into me?_ , she thought as she tried to regain her composure, _What is it about this young man that makes me so bashful? Sir Heero…_

He sat down on the edge of the boat and patted the spot next to him. "Here; I'll make sure you don't fall in."

"Very well, then," she replied.

As Sally fired up the motor Ayeka carefully sat down next to Heero. It felt very unnerving to have nothing behind her back should she lose her balance, but her fears were soon put to rest as Heero put his arm around her. Ayeka couldn't help but blush, and Heero was quick to notice.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Ayeka smiled, her face only growing redder at his attention. "Oh, no, not at all!"

Washu chuckled, and Ayeka could've sworn she heard her mutter under her breath. "No kidding"

"All right," said Sally as she untied the boat and pushed off from the dock, "Let's go!"

The craft got underway with surprising speed, and for a moment Ayeka feared that she would fall into the lake despite her guardian's efforts. Her apprehensions were misplaced, though; Heero's hold on her remained steady even as the boat raced towards their objective. The thought of how Ryoko might react if she could see Ayeka and Heero now flashed through her mind, and the image of jealousy and impotent fury on the pirate's face was quite pleasing.

 _Perhaps this is not my preferred way to get some quality time with Sir Heero_ , she thought as drops of water sprayed up at her, _but I could certainly do worse._

It only took a couple minutes before Ayeka could spot their destination. Peaking up through the surface of the lake like a hand grasping for a lifeline was the Royal Tree that was the core of _Ryu-Oh_. It was rather slender, but Ayeka knew that this was only the uppermost part of the tree, and the handful of branches and leaves sprouting on it were a sign of things to come.

Sally slowed the boat down until they were floating just a few meters from the tree. "We still can't figure out how it managed to grow until it breached the surface. Do you two have any ideas?"

Ayeka nodded. "Royal Trees are remarkably resilient. When deprived of direct sunlight they can take in light from other sources. The light that filtered down through the water would likely have sufficed, although that is not an ideal source. The tree would've focused on drawing as much nutrients from the lakebed and the water as possible in order to boost its growth, racing to the surface as quickly as possible in order to give itself a better source of light."

"She's right," said Washu, "The fact that this is a fresh water lake is a plus; it makes it much easier for the tree to gather nutrients. If this were salt water then the tree's growth would be severely hampered. In fact, I'm not sure if there's a recorded case of one actually surviving in those kinds of conditions. They're quite hardy, but they do have their limits."

"All right," said Sally, "So, how does this one look? Is it healthy?"

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Quite so. The leaves sprouting like this are definitely a good sign. _Ryu-Oh_ will continue to grow for quite some time to come, but this is remarkably good progress."

"It'll only get more and more visible," said Washu, "It's going to be impossible to hide it from people."

Sally sighed. "I was afraid that you would say that. Oh, well; the Director and I will figure out some way to deal with that."

"Lady Sally," said Ayeka nervously, "will any of those potential measures involve harm to _Ryu-Oh_?"

Sally shook her head. "No, not at all. The Director figured that you would want the tree to remain intact, and we'll do all we can to ensure that it stays safe and healthy. You have my word on that."

Ayeka breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"However," said Sally, "I do believe that we'll have to move it eventually. After all, you said that this is part of _Ryu-Oh_ 's recovery process, right? That means it will become a ship sooner or later. That's definitely something we can't just leave sitting out in the open."

Ayeka nodded. "Of course. However, I'm afraid you misunderstand the nature of Juraian Royal Tree Ships. It is true that the tree is the heart of the vessel, but it does not just naturally grow to the point that it becomes a ship. For that final stage to occur requires a team of Juraian craftsmen in order to rebuild the hull and properly integrate the tree with the rest of the vessel. If left here to its own devices the tree will continue to grow, but in order for it to become an actual vessel it needs outside help."

"So," said Sally, her eyes narrowing, "may I assume that at some point you'll be contacting the Empire to request such a team be sent out here?"

Ayeka smiled. "Well, if such a thing would be possible to arrange in cooperation with your government, yes."

Sally sighed. "I'm not sure how Director Une will take that."

"Oh, it won't be anytime soon!" said Ayeka, rushing to reassure her, "It'll be a good long while before _Ryu-Oh_ is ready for that. When the time comes, I will be sure to consult with you so we can create a satisfactory plan that will not inconvenience you or your government too much."

Washu rolled her eyes. "You can try all you want, but the Empire's _always_ an inconvenience to whatever part of the galaxy it sticks its nose into. Earth will be no exception."

Sally shrugged. "Well, we'll just have to deal with that when the time comes. If Ayeka's still here when that happens I imagine that'll help out a bit."

Ayeka nodded. "Oh, absolutely! I would be more than happy to act as a liaison between our two governments should the need arise, Lady Sally."

Sally smiled. "Thanks. It always helps to have a friend that's close to the top of a foreign power. I'm sure that Director Une would appreciate the sentiment."

"Sally," Heero cut in, "do you still need us out here? I'm not sure what more we're going to accomplish."

Sally turned to Ayeka. "Is there anything else that you can tell me about _Ryu-Oh_?"

Ayeka shook her head. "As of right now, I'm afraid not. My knowledge of the inner workings of Jurai's Royal Trees is not comprehensive."

Sally nodded before turning to Washu. "What about you?"

Washu's brow narrowed in thought. "Well, I'd like some more time to observe _Ryu-Oh_ and gather data samples of my own. I also want to examine the data that you've acquired so far."

"Of course," Sally replied, "We were planning on having you out here for at least a few days, so you'll have plenty of time to go over the material we've gathered so far. I'll take us back to shore and introduce you to our research team."

"What about Ayeka and I?" asked Heero.

Sally smiled. "Well, the way I see it, the two of you are on vacation now. I can arrange for separate transportation to get Washu back to your apartment later, so if you and Ayeka want to head off and relax for a while I've got no problem with it."

Ayeka was practically beaming as she turned to Heero. "Oh, that's wonderful! Sir Heero, if it's all right with you, I would love the chance to explore more of your capital city with you!"

Heero nodded. "That's fine. It sounds like we'll have plenty of time for that over the next few days."

"It's settled, then," said Sally as she started up the boat's motor again and turned them back towards the shore, "Let's go."

Ayeka smiled the whole way back, leaning into Heero as he kept his arm around her to prevent her from falling into the water. How lucky had she just gotten? Now she would have Heero entirely to herself while Washu studied _Ryu-Oh_. She couldn't have asked for a better opening to get closer to him.

 _Just watch, Sir Heero_ , she thought as they headed towards the shore, _I'll show you that I can understand you better than Ryoko ever could. She's too selfish to be worthy of your affection! I, on the other hand, possess the compassion and wisdom that a man such as yourself truly deserves!_

….

"Well," said Heero as he shut off the car, "this is our first stop."

Looking over at his passenger, he saw Ayeka's eyes widen as she saw their destination. "Most impressive! So this is the home of your government's ruling body?"

Heero nodded as he opened the door. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

They had parked in the government employees' lot for the ESUN's Parliament Building. The structure's size and design was truly fitting of its designation as the house of the legislative body that governed the Earth Sphere. It was built in the popular style of government buildings, with a marble exterior and ornate neo-classical columns adorning the main entrance. A large dome dominated the center of the structure, with annexes branching off from all sides in a sprawling complex designed to house all the support staff for the representatives that made up the legislature. The sheer scale of the building was imposing to say the least; it was larger than the capital's main soccer stadium, and that was a coliseum capable of seating well in excess of one hundred fifty thousand screaming fans.

"Is it really all right for the two of us to just walk in there like this?" asked Ayeka as they approached the broad stairs that led up to the main entrance, "I'd hate to be the cause of any disruption of governing affairs."

Heero shook his head. "It'll be fine. The representatives won't even notice us."

"And what of your chief executive?" asked Ayeka, "I believe his title is… President, yes?"

"That's correct," Heero replied, "He's actually not even in the capital today; he's attending a trade and development summit being hosted up in the L1 colony cluster."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. I must admit, I would like to visit one of your orbital colonies someday… if it's not an imposition to you, of course!"

"We'll see," said Heero cautiously, "Making those kind of travel arrangements would be a little more complicated than what was required to get us to the capital. I don't know if Director Une would be willing to back something like that."

Ayeka smiled. "I understand. While I would be most grateful for the chance to tour one of your colonies with you, I have no desire to cause trouble for either yourself or your superiors. There is more than enough down here on the surface of your world for me to experience with you."

Heero nodded. "I appreciate your willingness to cooperate like this. I'm sure you weren't nearly as constrained back in the Empire, so I am grateful that you've been so accepting of the limitations we've had you and your sister under."

"Oh, it's quite all right," Ayeka replied, "Actually, you've been quite accommodating to Sasami and I considering all the trouble our arrival on your planet has caused you and your superiors. Perhaps our freedom of movement was greater back in Jurai, but if accepting some restraints means that my sister and I can remain in your company then I am more than willing to make that sacrifice!"

"Thanks," said Heero, "Well, are you ready?"

Ayeka nodded. "Lead on, Sir Heero."

They passed by the front columns and went through the entrance a few seconds later. The first thing they were confronted with was the security checkpoint. There was a line of people waiting to get through the scanners, but Heero just flagged down a guard and showed him his Preventers identification. That was all it took to get him and Ayeka expedited through the checkpoint, and a few minutes later he had his companion set up with a guest pass.

"That went well," said Ayeka with a smile, "For a moment I feared we would be stuck with the rest of the crowd there for a while."

"Well, you're with me," said Heero, "and since I'm employed by Preventers I have special privileges. One of the most convenient ones is my security clearance; it's good for getting past cumbersome hurdles like those checkpoints."

"Indeed," said Ayeka, "So, where shall we go next?"

"Parliament should be in session right now," Heero replied, "Do you want to observe from the gallery?"

Ayeka's eyes widened. "You can't be serious! Do you mean that your governing legislature just lets people watch it handle affairs of state like some sort of public spectacle?"

"It's not quite like that," said Heero, "Come on, I'll show you."

He led her down the main corridor for a little ways until they came to a row of elevators. The two of them waited for a few seconds for one to arrive, and then Heero had it take them up three floors. Once they arrived he led Ayeka through a series of hallways until they reached one of several open observation boxes that were spaced around the central chamber that housed Parliament.

"Right this way," he said as he held the door open for her.

Ayeka gasped as she stepped inside. "Oh, my…"

It was hard to blame her; the view was pretty impressive. The observation box was well positioned to give the audience it contained a clear view of the entire ESUN Parliament. There were several descending rows of chairs, each well furnished and quite comfortable. Out beyond the railing the chamber opened up into a grand vista. Since the Parliament was composed of both representatives from regions on Earth as well as the colonies one would naturally imagine a rather expansive meeting area for them, but Heero knew that anyone visiting for the first time would still be struck by what they saw here.

The central part of the circular chamber that housed all the delegates and their aides when Parliament was in session was absolutely enormous. A full soccer field could've been laid out in the middle with plenty of room to spare. At the far end was the upraised stand where VIP speakers such as the President could address the assembled body, and draped upon the wall as a backdrop was the flag of the ESUN. The banner consisted of a dark red field with a wreath-enclosed golden disc containing two concentric circles bisected by an X, representing the planet as viewed from above either the North or the South Pole. Smaller stands flanked the side of the VIP podium where aides or other dignitaries and notaries would position themselves while the main speaker addressed the legislative body. Laid out before the upraised stand were scores of curved rows of desks and chairs where the assembled representatives and their immediate support staff sat, with aisles carved out like spokes on a bike wheel so individuals could move to the center of the chamber.

"Quite the view, isn't it?" asked Heero as he joined Ayeka by the railing.

Ayeka nodded. "Indeed. Very lively too, by the looks of it."

Heero couldn't argue with that. The entire Parliament was in attendance, which meant that an almost constant thrum of human activity was occurring just below them. Representatives were huddling with their colleagues and staff in clusters; no single speaker currently held the floor.

"What's on the legislative agenda for today?" asked Ayeka.

Pulling out his smart phone, Heero went to the ESUN's public website and went to Parliament's subsection. "There are a few infrastructure bills that are supposed to be voted on in a little while. Looks like they mostly have to do with expanding the solar power grid in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Nothing controversial; they'll pass easily. After that they'll be discussing an increase in funding for education and agricultural development in central Africa, along with the associated taxes to help pay for it. There shouldn't be any trouble there either. Overall, it looks like a pretty average day for the assembly. Sorry there's nothing exciting on the agenda."

Ayeka smiled and shook her head. "Oh, it's quite all right! I'm honored just to be here with you, Sir Heero. It truly is a privilege to be able to witness your government at work, even if it is just regarding mundane issues. That does bring me back to my earlier question, though; does your government truly just allow anyone to walk in like we did and witness their proceedings?"

"It's not quite like that," Heero replied, "Our government does operate on the principle of offering the people as much transparency as is reasonably possible, but there are limits. You and I got in here so easily because of my security clearance; were it not for that, we'd probably still be stuck in that line back at the entrance. The staff here do arrange for public tours. Most of the time they're made up of tourists visiting the capital or students on field trips. Security for setting events like those up is rather stringent. To compensate, there are public broadcast networks that are devoted to showcasing Parliament's day-to-day proceedings for those who wish to follow them. More often than not, observation boxes like the one we're in now are typically occupied by members of the press or people invited here by individual representatives."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. I presume that there are legislative proceedings that are not available for public consumption, yes?"

"You're correct," said Heero, "although that's usually only for committee meetings that involve sensitive matters such as security."

"Would my sister and I fall under that category?" asked Ayeka, "You and your organization have already gone to considerable lengths to keep our arrival here a secret, so I must imagine that we don't exactly come up on the legislative agenda."

Heero nodded. "You're right about that. To tell you the truth, not a single member of Parliament knows about you, Sasami, or any of the others. The list of individuals in the know includes the President, a few members of his Cabinet, and Preventers personnel that are directly involved with you, such as myself and Sally. Director Une and the President are both well aware of the potential problems that could arise if your existence were revealed to the public, so they've been extremely careful about keeping that information compartmentalized."

"While I can appreciate the necessity of maintaining a veil of secrecy over me," said Ayeka, "I do find it striking that none of the members of your elected legislature are aware of the existence of myself or the others. Far be it from me to question the methods of Director Une, but… is this truly the right way to handle my situation? If your Parliament truly represents the people of your world, should not at least one of them be made aware of my existence? Obviously I would not want them to spread that knowledge around if it would be of ill consequence to you, but is leaving the entirety of the legislature in the dark on this matter really in keeping with the principles of your government?"

Heero shrugged. "You're asking the wrong guy. It's enough for me that this arrangement keeps the peace and ensures the safety of you and the others. Anything beyond that's not my concern."

"I understand," Ayeka replied.

He watched her study the politicians below for a few minutes before she turned to him again. "Your system of governance… it's a multi-party democracy, yes?"

Heero nodded. "That's correct. I'm assuming there are no political parties in the Empire, right?"

"Quite correct," said Ayeka, "Groups of nobles may form unofficial factions depending on their interests, but none have founded an actual party, and there are certainly no such institutions among the common people. Political parties are outlawed in the Empire; they're viewed as a divisive and destructive force."

"Sometimes I feel that way myself," said Heero, "but they do serve a purpose. They're part of the means through which regular people can express their will in our government. By forming political parties people can achieve more in a representative democracy because it makes it easier to act as a group and coordinate an agenda. In a vibrant multi-party system like ours almost anyone can find a party that reflects what they believe in, at least to an extent, and they can vote for representatives that they believe will serve their interests as one of their constituents."

"Is there currently a dominant party?" asked Ayeka.

Heero nodded. "The group with the current majority in Parliament is the Earth Sphere Democratic Unity Party. The President is also a member of the party."

"I see," said Ayeka, "How long have they been in power?"

"Since the revival of the multi-party system following the end of the old regime," said Heero, "Their policies have centered on their commitment to the new democratic order and peaceful unity between Earth and the colonies. They've put a great deal of effort into reconstruction and development projects designed to help the world heal the wounds caused by the prior conflicts, which has made them very popular with the working class and those who were victims of the brutality and repressiveness of the old regime. They're also dedicated to promoting equality between the people of Earth and the colonies, so they have broad support throughout the Earth Sphere."

"Do _you_ support them, Sir Heero?" Ayeka asked cautiously.

"I'm not an official member," Heero replied, "I actually haven't registered with any political party, and have no intention of doing so. That being said, I do favor most of their policies. I believe that under their leadership the Earth Sphere has a chance to truly move forward and make amends for the crimes and mistakes of the past."

"Are… are there any past actions in particular that you wish for them to address?" she inquired tentatively.

Heero studied his companion carefully. Why was she so hesitant now? Was she really trying to learn about his world's politics and history, or was she after something else? Ayeka might not act as devious or mischievous as Ryoko, but Heero knew that she was still a very intelligent woman, and there was the real possibility of ulterior motives behind her line of questioning.

After a moment he nodded. "Yes… the ones that led to people like me taking up arms against the old order. The colonies suffered extensively under the exploitation and repression of the United Earth Sphere Alliance. There are still plenty of unhealed wounds from that time period. Forced labor, crushed workers' rights, brutal suppression of protestors, assassinating dissidents; the people of the colonies have plenty of reasons to distrust any Earth-based government. If there is to be lasting peace between Earth and the colonies, then the people who reside up in space need to have a real and meaningful say in how this world is governed. They also need the resources to help the colonies recover after so many years of being used as just another source of labor and capital by the rulers on Earth."

Ayeka nodded, and she looked quite somber. "I understand… no, forgive me; I shouldn't say that. I was born into a position of great status and wealth, so I could never understand what it would feel like to live under an iron-fisted regime like the one you're describing. That you are willing to serve another Earth-based government after what the prior one did to the colonies that you lived in speaks very highly of your character, Sir Heero. I hope that the current administration understands how truly fortunate it is to have you in their employ, and that they do everything within their power to reconcile with your colonies and grant them the equality and justice that they deserve. That is the very least that they can do to show their gratitude for your service."

"Ayeka…" he said softly, his eyes widening ever so slightly; where was _this_ coming from?

He was already feeling a bit off balance, but she surprised him still further by reaching over and gently grabbing his hand. "Sir Heero, if there is anything that I can do to aid your world in healing the scars from the war that you endured, you need only to ask. I would consider it a great honor to play a role in helping both your planet and your colonies move forward into a future of peaceful cooperation and friendship, especially if it would save you from having to suffer through another conflict."

Heero couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. "I appreciate that, although I'm not sure how Sally or Director Une would take it. They'd prefer that you maintain a low profile while you're here."

"Of course," said Ayeka, "and I am more than willing to go along with their desires for the sake of peace and security in your world. However, I do not wish to simply sit idle here and enjoy the luxuries provided by your organization. I would like to find some way to return the great courtesy that you and the rest of Preventers have shown me. I am sure that if I spoke with father and mother something could be arranged. The Empire is vast and powerful, but it does not have to act publicly to exert its will. If contact could be made behind the scenes between an Imperial envoy and representatives of your government then I am confident that some form of compensation for your services can be provided."

Heero shook his head. "That's not necessary, Ayeka. I'm not doing this for a reward, and neither is my organization."

Ayeka smiled. "I'm well aware of that, but the offer stands regardless. I for one refuse to give the impression that my house, holders of the throne since the founding of the Empire of Jurai, is incapable of gratitude or recognizing when a debt is owed. As crown princess of Jurai, I will do all in my power to make sure that my government knows of the kindness and hospitality that you have demonstrated since my arrival here. The Royal Family will not forget the service that you have rendered us, and should the time come that you ever require our aid, know that I personally will lobby my father and mother to make sure that our debt to you is repaid."

Heero chuckled. "That might be hard to arrange. My world lacks the technology to efficiently communicate across the vast distances between star systems. We'd have no way to contact the Empire even if we wanted to."

"I would be more than happy to see that samples of Juraian communications technology are provided to establish such a link between our societies," Ayeka countered, "It would be no trouble at all, of that I can assure you."

Heero nodded. "You should talk to Sally about that. I can't see her or Director Une refusing that kind of an offer."

"I'd be more than happy to approach them with such a proposal," Ayeka replied, "You need only to ask, and it shall be done, Sir Heero."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said as he stood up, "Well, I think we've spent enough time here. Do you want to tour the rest of the complex?"

Ayeka smiled as she rose next to him. "Lead on, Sir Heero."

….

 **November 4** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Taking a swig of her beer, Ryoko leaned back on the couch and groaned. "Ah, man, this freaking sucks! Why the hell do I gotta be stuck back here? It's not fair!"

Over in the kitchen, Kiyone rolled her eyes. "So you keep saying. How long are you going to keep whining about it? They've only been gone about two days."

"Come on, Ryoko!" chirped Mihoshi, sounding entirely too cheerful for Ryoko's liking, "It's not really that bad! It's kind of fun having the place to ourselves like this!"

"Says you, airhead," grumbled Ryoko, "You don't have a care in the world, do you?"

"Ryoko, be nice," Sasami chided as she helped Kiyone make lunch, "You really shouldn't complain so much. This is for the best, so we might as well try to make the most of it. Heero did say that he'd bring us back some souvenirs, so it's not like he's forgotten about us."

"He's likely forgotten about _us_ ," said Azaka with a mechanical sigh, "I did not hear him say that he would bring souvenirs back for you and I, Kamidake."

"Indeed," said Kamidake, "Sometimes I wonder if _anyone_ remembers that the two of us live here as well."

"Can it before I turn you two into firewood," growled Ryoko.

"Lay off the guardians," said Kiyone, "It's not their fault that you've been in a crappy mood since Heero and the others left."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her perch on the table, nodding in agreement.

Downing more of her beer, Ryoko glared back at the cop. "Well, what do you expect? Ayeka's got Heero all to herself for who knows how long!"

"No, she doesn't," said Mihoshi, "Washu's with them!"

"Is that supposed to make me feel _better_?" Ryoko quipped, "It really doesn't, Mihoshi!"

Not even alcohol has managed to help improve Ryoko's spirits ever since Heero, Ayeka, and Washu had departed two days ago for the capital. She'd been moody and foul from the moment the trio had gone out the door, and the efforts of Sasami, Mihoshi, and Kiyone to brighten her up had just made things worse. How could they expect her to be cheerful when at this very moment her rival was halfway across the world and had complete freedom to work her charms on Heero?

 _Damn you, Ayeka_ , she silently fumed, _I swear, I'm going to get back at you for this!_

Ryoko hated how worked up she'd gotten over this, but she just couldn't help herself. She thought that she wasn't the type to get all hung up over one guy, but that had been before she'd met Heero. All this time she'd been trying to get him wrapped around her finger, and yet Ryoko found that it was instead _she_ who was getting flustered and hot under the collar. Heero was a natural at playing hard to get, and in fact Ryoko was sure that he was doing so completely unconsciously. Whether the young man was aware of it or not, he had a hold on Ryoko's heart like no other guy before him. The more tantalizing and cryptic clues he offered about himself, the deeper Ryoko wanted to dig and find out just what really made him tick.

She'd felt that she'd been making progress, especially in light of how he'd been willing to take on Nagi to protect her. He clearly felt _something_ for her; Ryoko had a hard time buying the idea that he kept standing up for her just because he felt like it was his job. He'd been more understanding with her and willing to learn more about her than any other guy before, and Ryoko had wanted to return the favor in her own way. However, now all the progress that she'd made was under threat thanks to Ayeka, and there was nothing that she could do about it. She was sorely tempted to take Ryo-Ohki and fly straight to the capital, and the only thing that was stopping her was the knowledge that a flight like that would cause no end of headaches for Heero once his superiors learned of it.

 _Damn it, Heero_ , she thought, _This is what you do to me! I wouldn't give a damn about the consequences of a public flight with Ryo-Ohki normally, but with you… damn it!_

She slammed her fist against the table, crimson sparks of energy dancing around her fist. "Aaagh, son of a bitch! I swear, when Ayeka gets back here I'm going to make her spill the beans on every dirty trick she pulled when she was with Heero!"

"Sounds like _someone's_ jealous," said Kiyone, "You know, for how much you and Ayeka fight, you two have at least _that_ much in common."

"Screw that!" Ryoko snapped, "I'm nothing like that stuck-up royal brat! I didn't get where I am today because of relying on powerful parents like she did!"

"No," Kiyone countered, "Just through overwhelming power that few are able to counter. Oh, wait; Ayeka has that going for her too. Besides, if Washu really _is_ your mother, then in a way you _did_ get this far in part because of a powerful parent."

"Don't tell me that you actually _believe_ that psychotic quack!" cried Ryoko, "There's no way that _she's_ my mother!"

"Now, now, Ryoko," chided Mihoshi, "Why would Washu lie about being your mother? It's not very nice to say things like that about her, you know?"

"She's right!" said Sasami, "You just need to spend more time with her, Ryoko! That's how mothers and daughters bond!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Yeah, like _that's_ going to happen."

"Meow!" whined Ryo-Ohki.

Ryoko scowled. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me that you're siding with _them_! I thought we were a team here!"

She heard Kiyone chuckle. "If your little furry partner thinks that we have a point, shouldn't you listen to her?"

"Shut up!" snapped Ryoko as she finished off her beer and stood up, "I'm going out. Being cooped up with you is a buzz-kill."

"Don't go too far!" called Sasami as she headed for the door, "Lunch will be ready soon!"

"What are you, my mom?" asked Ryoko with a roll of her eyes.

"No, silly," said Mihoshi, "That would be Washu!"

Ryoko could've torn her hair out in that moment. "God damn it, Mihoshi!"

She slammed the door behind her and stomped out towards the lake. She wasn't the type to go out and admire the scenery, but right now she just wanted to get away from her housemates before she killed one of them.

"How the hell did I get stuck living with these wackos?" she grumbled, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Having Heero around was really the only thing that made living in this crazy household worthwhile. His absence had disturbed the natural order, and if he didn't come back soon then Ryoko couldn't guarantee that the place would be left standing for much longer.

"Damn it, Heero," she groaned, looking longingly up at the sky, "You're not supposed to leave me here like this. If you stay away too long I don't know what I'm going to do! Get back here!"

 _Preferably before I murder someone…_

….

 **November 6** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"Oh, my goodness!" said Ayeka as Heero passed what appeared to be a stick with the top half engulfed by a pink fluffy substance, "What in the name of Tsunami is _this_?"

"It's called cotton candy," Heero replied, "I thought you might want to try some."

It was an assumption that was quite correct; Ayeka had seen several passersby holding the strange food and was curious about it, but she hadn't openly voiced a desire for it. She was impressed at how her guardian had picked up on that despite her not saying that she wanted to try the odd treat; it spoke highly of his observational abilities that he was able to discern what she wanted from strictly subconscious visual cues.

She took a hesitant bite and was nearly overwhelmed by the subsequent sweetness. This treat was absolutely divine!

"How do you like it?" asked Heero.

Ayeka grinned. "Oh, it's absolutely superb! I've never tasted anything like it!"

Heero nodded, apparently pleased by her enthusiastic reaction. "It's pretty popular, especially at venues like this."

The venue in question was the massive Unity Stadium, the primary sports arena within the capital. The coliseum was the heart of Brussels' entertainment hum, and while Ayeka had seen the arena from a distance during the time she'd spent living in the capital prior to the move to Japan she had never been inside. While Ayeka had attended a few sporting events before coming to Heero's world, they had always been in the role of crown princess of Jurai, and as thus there had always been certain ceremonial expectations of her. This was the first time she'd ever attended such an event as just another civilian, and it was quite an exciting experience.

They were currently in the middle of what Heero had called 'half-time', which Ayeka understood to be a momentary lull before the main event resumed. Said event was a sporting match of a game that Heero had called soccer. While Ayeka was not the most avid of sports fans and did not follow most physical contests in the Empire, it had been easy enough for her to follow along as Heero had described the rules and objectives of the game. The teams that were participating in today's exhibition match were from Germany and France, two different regions of the same continent that Brussels was on as well. Currently the score was tied, with both sides having scored two goals apiece.

The atmosphere within the stadium was absolutely electrifying. Ayeka had been amazed at the devotion that both teams' fans showed, and judging by the opposing uniforms worn and flags waved across the stadium it would seem that enthusiasts for both sides had shown up in equal numbers. It had gotten downright rowdy on more than one occasion, with a few of the more fanatical fans getting ejected from the stadium for brawling with their opposite number. Those incidents had primarily occurred in the rows closer to the field, but since Heero and Ayeka had seats in one of the upper sections they were at no risk of getting caught in the crossfire. Heero himself didn't seem to favor a particular team, and Ayeka suspected that he was actually more interested in her reaction to the sporting spectacle than the match itself. It was a rather touching sentiment and she was grateful that he wanted to make sure that she was enjoying herself, but that cut both ways; Ayeka would prefer for her guardian to be able to relax and be as much of a spectator to the match as she was.

"Shall we head back?" she asked.

"In a moment," said Heero as they stopped at another concession stand, "I just want to get us some drinks first. Do you want anything?"

Ayeka nodded. "Water will be fine, thank you."

 _A most considerate host_ , she thought with a smile as she watched him purchase their drinks, _I could not ask for a better escort…_

She certainly couldn't ask for a better sightseeing guide. Ayeka had thought that she'd seen most of Brussels during her initial stay in the city, but ever since their tour of the Parliament Building Heero had continued to show her locations in the capital that they had not visited prior to their move out to Japan. The venues had a decidedly more cultural taste to them than previous sites, consisting mainly of art and history museums, with this soccer match being the standout exception. Ayeka had to wonder if Heero was attempting to tailor the sites they visited to her and appeal to her background as a member of Jurai's Royal Family. She certainly had appreciated the chance to experience a taste of art from several different eras of Earth's history, and she felt that more than a few of the pieces she'd seen would not have looked out of place in a museum somewhere in the Empire. Brussels was a veritable hub of cultural diversity if one knew where to look, and Heero clearly possessed that knowledge. It was as if Ayeka was getting a glimpse of his entire world compacted down into the form of a single city, and the only thing that was missing was what she assumed to be the unique culture and characteristics of the colonies that orbited the planet.

It wasn't just cultural tourism that they'd indulged in; Heero had made good on his promise to those who had been left back in Japan by making sure to pick up souvenirs for each of them. Ayeka had taken great care in helping him to select the treats that they would bring back to Sasami; she wanted to make sure that her sister got to indulge her sweet tooth, but at the same time she didn't want her to take it too far. In the end she was satisfied with the goodies Heero had purchased for Sasami, and she was sure that her sister would greatly enjoy them.

"Here you go," said Heero, snapping her out of her thoughts as he passed her a bottle of water, "Let's get going; we've only got a couple minutes until the match starts back up."

"Right behind you, Sir Heero," she replied.

They made their way through the hall and back into the main arena. Proceeding up the stairs, they quickly made it to their seats and settled in. Ayeka could already see the players from both sides emerging from the locker rooms; it would not be long before the match resumed.

"I do hope the spectators will refrain from further hostilities," she said.

Heero shrugged. "There'll probably be another incident or two before the match is over. I think some of the fans come to matches like these more for the fights in the stands than the action down on the field."

"Such a waste," said Ayeka, "The players putting on this sporting spectacle should be the objects of their attention, not drunken brawls with rival enthusiasts."

"I agree," Heero replied, "and I imagine the security staff would prefer that as well. Every year they come up with new means of crowd control, but the rowdiest ones will always find a way to start trouble. It's almost like a tradition, really; from what I understand there are people like that at pretty much every game, whether the matches are in the capital or not."

Ayeka folded her arms. "Well, I would most certainly appreciate it if they left the two of us out of their petty scuffles."

"As would I," said Heero.

"I mean, seriously," Ayeka continued, "Why would one spend good money to come to an event like this only to be belligerent and boorish? What utter fools they must be! Such ruffians and scoundrels should be barred at the gates!"

"Who're _you_ calling fools?" said a male voice, with more than a bit of a slur to it.

Ayeka turned to see a tall, blond man glaring at her from the row in front of her. From the colors he was wearing he appeared to be rooting for the French team this round; his entire ensemble was a garish mess of blue, red, and white. Ayeka spotted a half finished beer in his chair's cup-holder, with more than a few empty cups scattered at his feet. The man was clearly inebriated well beyond any sense of public decency, and Ayeka felt that it was best to ignore him.

Unfortunately, the man seemed to take offense at that. "Hey! I'm talking to _you_ , you stuck up _bitch_! What makes you think that _you're_ so high and mighty?"

She pointedly turned her gaze away from him. "I don't have to explain myself to a drunkard such as yourself! Go sober up before addressing others in public, unless you are _completely_ without a sense of dignity!"

The man's face was already flushed due to his state of intoxication, but now anger was added to the mix. "Quit talking like you're such hot shit!"

The man started to climb over his seat, and Ayeka did not know what to do. The drunkard was not a significant threat in and of himself; her power would be more than enough to deal with him under normal circumstances. However, if she unleashed her abilities at a venue such as this she would cause no end of trouble for Heero, and that was the last thing she wanted.

However, it appeared that her fears were ill-placed, for her host was already taking action of his own. The belligerent was only halfway over his seat when he was confronted by Heero, and Ayeka nearly recoiled when she saw the look on his face. Heero had always struck her as a firm yet fair young man, ever patient and very slow to anger, but the look in his eyes that she saw now was one-hundred percent ice-cold _fury_.

"Stand down," he said, his tone just barely above a venomous hiss, " _Now_."

Unfortunately, the blond man was too inebriated to recognize his peril. He continued to advance, and Ayeka watched her guardian with bated breath, wondering just how his frigid fury would be unleashed.

She did not have to wait long. As soon as the drunkard completed his climb, Heero was on him. In the blink of an eye his hand was at the blond man's throat, and Ayeka's eyes widened in shock as Heero effortlessly lifted him off the ground.

"Stand. _Down_." Heero repeated, and if words could kill Ayeka was sure that the drunkard would've been slain on the spot, "You will not get another warning."

"Sir Heero…" said Ayeka softly.

"You there!" yelled a man in a security uniform, "Release him at once!"

Heero almost casually tossed the man to the ground before turning to face the stadium staffer. "Is there a problem, officer?"

"What's going on here?" the man asked.

"This man was going to assault my companion," Heero replied, nodding at Ayeka, "He's had far too much to drink and needs to be ejected from the arena."

"That's not your call to make!" the guard replied, more than a little incensed at what he must've perceived as Heero's intrusion onto his turf.

"Actually, it _is_ ," said Heero as he reached into his pocket and passed his identification to the guard, "If you still dispute that, I would be more than happy to take the matter up with your superiors."

The guard's eyes widened as he read the card. "Holy crap…"

"Eject this man," said Heero as he took his card back and nodded at the blond drunkard, "I won't have him threaten my companion again."

The guard nodded and pulled the man up from the floor before escorting him out of the stands. Ayeka could not help but stare at Heero as he took his seat again, and she wasn't the only one; the incident had been impossible to miss, and many of the nearby spectators were looking at them.

"Sorry about that," said Heero, "Normally the rowdy ones sit further down. I didn't think one would be up here."

Ayeka forced a smile. "Oh, it's all right! Thank you for your assistance, Sir Heero!"

Heero nodded. "You're welcome."

Down on the field the match was resuming, but Ayeka hardly noticed. Her attention remained focused on Heero and the confrontation that she had just witnessed. She had seen him in fights before, but there was something different about what she had just seen. His dispatching of the drunkard had been effortless, efficient, and even ruthless. There had been no big display of martial prowess; he'd simply offered the man a single warning before going straight for his throat. What had made it even more unsettling was just how easily he had tossed the belligerent to the ground when the security guard had approached; it had looked more like he was just dropping a sack of potatoes instead of an actual person.

It was a reminder to Ayeka of just how little she truly knew about him. She believed Heero to be an honorable man and a noble soldier, but what she had just seen felt like a glimpse at a darker side to him. He was clearly an experienced combatant, but whatever fighting he had seen had left marks on him in more ways than one. In this incident he had clearly restrained himself, but Ayeka had a feeling that if Heero had not held back he could've crushed the man's throat with no effort whatsoever. He wasn't just a guardian; if push came to shove, Ayeka did not doubt that he would be more than capable of taking life. It should've been natural to think that when one considered the feats of martial prowess that he had shown so far, but imagining Heero as a killer for some reason presented Ayeka with a very chilling mental image.

 _No_ , she thought, quickly banishing the vision from her mind, _Sir Heero is not like that. Yes, he is a soldier, but he is also a noble and compassionate young man. When he fights it is in the defense of others and this incident is no exception. He is not some assassin; when he takes life it is as a soldier must, and only as a last resort. Yes, I am sure of that…_

"Are you okay?" Heero asked, "We can leave if you're not comfortable here."

Ayeka shook her head and smiled again. "Oh, no, I'm quite well! Besides, I would hate for the money you spent on these tickets to go to waste. Let's enjoy the rest of the match, shall we?"

Heero nodded. "Very well."

She tried to force the confrontation out of her mind and focus on the game, but she wasn't entirely successful. The image of Heero lifting the drunkard by the throat continued to hover in the back of her mind.

She prayed that she would never have to witness that again.

….

 **November 9** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Taking a sip from her wine glass, Washu smiled as she leaned back on the couch. "Ah, nothing like a good drink after a meal. This is some great stuff, Heero!"

Heero nodded as he partook in his beverage as well. "Thanks. I honestly forgot I had this bottle stashed away here. I know I didn't grab everything when we moved out to Japan, but I thought I at least cleaned out the liquor cabinet."

"It's quite a lovely vintage," said Ayeka, "We should take the rest of it back with us tomorrow."

"Feel free to put it in your bag," said Heero, "and don't forget to make sure you've got everything else packed up. It'll be a long flight back, and if we leave anything here the costs to ship it out to Japan will be pretty steep."

Washu chuckled. "You mean you don't get free shipping with Preventers?"

"Not if it's not a vital operational expense," Heero replied.

Washu rolled her eyes. "Cheapskates."

"Hardly," said Ayeka, "The amount they spent to bring us out here must've been considerable. Given those costs, trying to cut back on other expenditures is more than reasonable."

"Ayeka's right," said Heero, "Our budget's large, but we still have to prioritize our spending. If we don't then we'd have Parliament's Security Oversight Committee breathing down our necks, and they're not pleasant to deal with."

Washu smirked. "Gotta keep the bureaucrats happy, huh? It doesn't matter what planet you end up on; governments never really change."

 _Good thing the only government officials I've had to deal with on this world are Heero and his superiors_ , she mused, _They certainly seem much easier to work with than the administrators in the Empire and the GIS…_

It was hard to believe that it was already almost time to head back to the home they shared in the sleepy mountain countryside of Japan. The amount of access she'd been given to _Ryu-Oh_ and the data Preventers had gathered on her was exhilarating, and Washu had loved every second she'd got to study the Royal Tree under such unusual conditions. While it was true that she'd been forced to work with incredibly primitive equipment by her standards, Washu had simply viewed that as an added challenge to be overcome with her usual style and flair. The near constant state of awe the human scientists assisting her had exhibited was an added bonus; it was _so_ nice to finally have some proper appreciation for her talents, even if she'd been forced to settle for the adoration of people who were centuries behind the rest of the galaxy when it came to technological advancement.

While she'd passed along what she'd learned to the government researchers, Washu had made sure to save a copy of the data for herself. She planned on going over the material in detail the trio returned home, and she wanted to make sure that she wasn't missing anything. Washu wasn't quite sure how she would apply the data to her current research, but she had no doubt that she would find a way sooner or later.

 _After all_ , she thought with a grin, _I am a genius!_

Studying the data on _Ryu-Oh_ would certainly be enjoyable, but that wasn't the only information that she would be examining later on. Her work with the researchers aiding Preventers had given her access to the peacekeeping agency's network, and while she'd primarily used it as a means of helping her forward reports to Heero's superiors, Washu was also well aware of another utility that such access could provide. While the other researchers had been distracted pouring over the data on the Royal Tree, Washu had quietly installed herself a backdoor into the system. Granted, her current access was really just surface level, but it would not be hard for her to work her way past all the security firewalls and find the data that she'd _really_ come out here for.

Taking another sip of her red wine, Washu then faked a yawn. "Man, I'm beat. I think it's time to hit the hay. We do have to get up early tomorrow after all, right?"

Heero nodded, although Washu thought she caught a hint of suspicion in the young man's eyes. "Agreed. We should get some rest."

A few minutes later Heero had cleaned out their wine glasses and put them away. Ayeka bid them goodnight and went off to her room, while Washu had lain down on the couch. Heero went off to his bedroom, but not before sparing one last glance at Washu.

She gave him a devious smile in return. "What's up, handsome? Thinking about giving me some company tonight? You won't hear me complaining!"

Heero shook his head. "No. Goodnight, Washu."

The red-haired genius winked. "Sweet dreams, Heero!"

She watched as the young man closed his bedroom door, the smile still on her face. It was so much fun to tease him like that, and she knew that in that regards she wasn't that much different from Ryoko.

 _Like mother, like daughter, or so they say_ , she thought with a chuckle, _I suppose some things really are genetic._

She spent a little while just staring at the ceiling, trying to pass some time until she could be reasonably sure that Heero and Ayeka had fallen asleep. What she was about to do wasn't something that she wanted an audience for, especially considering that one of them just so happened to work for the organization that she was about to hack.

About a half an hour passed before Washu decided it was as good a time as any. Sitting back up, with a wave of her hand a transparent monitor and keyboard appeared out of thin air. Her fingers immediately started dancing across the keyboard, and within just a few minutes she'd reached the backdoor she'd set up earlier in Preventers' system.

"All right," she whispered, "Let's see what you got."

Working her way through the first few layers of security was easy; she had a formidable array of specialized programs to help her out with that. The deeper she got, though, the trickier things became. She couldn't help but silently salute the peacekeeping organization's cyber security staff; for such a primitive world, their network defenses were rather formidable.

 _Impressive_ , she mused with a smirk, _in an amateurish way, that is. Allow me to show you how a genius operates, Preventers!_

It took a little longer than she had originally planned on, but eventually she saw her screen go green in confirmation; she was in.

"Perfect," she murmured, "Now, where are you hiding… aha!"

With her current access she could download everything in the system, but she wasn't after that. Washu was no common cyber thief; she was an electronic cat-burglar who was after one specific item, and she had found it. Downloading the target file, she then beat a hasty retreat out of the system. Checking to make sure that she hadn't been discovered, she disconnected entirely from the network and allowed herself a satisfied smile.

 _Now_ , she thought, _it's time to open my prize!_

She pulled up the file onto the main screen, and the title flashed before her.

 **Preventers Personnel File: Operative Heero Yuy, Code Name: Zero**

 **Content Classification: Top Secret**

 **Operative Combat Rating: Hyper-lethal**

"Hyper-lethal, huh?" whispered Washu with a smile, "I wonder why he gets _that_ rating?"

 _Let's find out!_

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Ryoko: Heero, you're back! Let's celebrate by getting hammered!_

 _Ayeka: Hands off Sir Heero, you tramp!_

 _Sasami: Welcome back!_

 _Mihoshi: Yay, you're home! Did you bring treats?_

 _Ryo-Ohki: Meow!_

 _Azaka and Kamidake: Welcome back, Princess Ayeka!_

 _Washu: I'm impressed, Kiyone; the house is still standing._

 _Kiyone: What are you implying, Washu?_

 _Heero: It's good to be back. Thanks for watching the place, Kiyone. Hopefully things will settle down for a while now._

 _Washu: Fat chance of that! Feast your eyes on my latest invention; a device that lets the user create their dream world!_

 _Ryoko: Are you serious?_

 _Ayeka: Oh, how wonderful! I'll build a world that's perfect for Sir Heero and I!_

 _Ryoko: Hey, back off! I'm going to build a world for me and Heero, and I'll make you the villain just for kicks!_

 _Mihoshi: I want to make a world!_

 _Kiyone: A world without Mihoshi… that would be nice…_

 _Sasami: Uhm… everyone should try to calm down… but then again, I want to try out a dream world too…_

 _Washu: Hey, back off! It hasn't been fully tested yet, so don't go getting any ideas._

 _Ryoko: Next time, in Chapter Ten: No Need For Time And Space Adventures, Part One!_

 _Heero: A dream world for me… what would that even look like?_

 _Washu with a devious smile: That's what I want to find out!_

 **Author's Notes:** Well, if you're fans of Tenchi Universe, then you'll enjoy the next two chapters. In case you can't tell from the preview, they'll be paying homage to the Time and Space Adventures mini-arc from that series, and I'm pretty excited to start working on them!

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:** Hey there, it's been a while! Sorry this one took so long, I was honestly having a hard time figuring out where to end it at. Not to mention life happened, and this isn't the only story I'm working on.

All right, enough with the excuses. Enjoy!

 **Chapter Ten: No Need For Time And Space Adventures, Part One!**

 **November 10** **th** **, A.C. 198**

Heero had barely walked through the front door when Ryoko came barreling down the hall like a cannonball. " _Heero! You're back!_ "

Before the Preventers operative could react the lovely space pirate threw herself at him, nearly tackling him to the ground in the process. "Oh, you're finally home! How could you just leave me here like that? I missed you _so much!_ "

"I missed you too, Ryoko," Heero replied, his breathing somewhat labored under the combined weight of Ryoko and the luggage that he was carrying.

"Release Sir Heero at once, Ryoko!" Ayeka yelled.

"No!" Ryoko protested, squeezing Heero even tighter than she had before, "I don't want him to leave again!"

Behind him, Heero heard Washu chuckle. "Looks like _someone_ was lonely while we were away."

"Heero!" cried Mihoshi as she and the others rushed towards the entrance, "Welcome home!"

"How was the capital?" asked Kiyone.

"Did you bring back any treats?" asked Sasami, a big grin on her face.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Calm down," said Heero as he finally freed himself from Ryoko's grip, "Can we at least get out of the hallway first?"

"Clear some room, people!" Kiyone barked, "We kept the place intact, so it'd be a shame for us to suffocate Heero right when he gets home."

Heero nodded as he and the others made their way to the living room. "Thanks. Looks like you did a good job taking care of things while I was gone. I owe you one, Kiyone."

The detective smiled. "I'll remember that. Welcome back, Heero."

"It's good to be back," Heero replied as he sat down on the couch and set his bags on the floor, "Did anything happen while we were away? You never did use the phone I gave you."

Kiyone shook her head. "It was pretty quiet, actually. Well, except for Ryoko's constant whining."

"Hey!" Ryoko snapped, folding her arms as she sat down next to Heero, "I wasn't whining! I just really missed Heero!"

She then glared at Ayeka. "Hey, royal brat! We're going to have some _words_ later about your time in the capital with Heero, you got that?"

Ayeka gave her a smug smile in reply. "My, my, whatever do you wish to talk about, Ryoko? Is that _insecurity_ I hear in your voice? Oh, I do hope so!"

Ryoko scowled, and crimson sparks danced in the palms of her hands. "Why, you little…"

"Enough," said Heero firmly, "We just got back, and I'd like to go at least five minutes without the two of you trying to tear each other apart. Stand down, Ryoko."

Ryoko sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Oh, fine, but only for you, Heero."

"How was _Ryu-Oh_ doing, Ayeka?" asked Sasami.

Ayeka nodded. "Quite well. I daresay the tree is growing strongly, and at such a fast pace!"

"Gotta hand it to those Royal Trees," said Washu, "Those things are pretty damn tough. It was looking pretty good considering where it landed."

"That's excellent news," said Azaka.

"I would expect nothing less from such a powerful specimen!" chirped Kamidake.

"It will not be ready to be reintegrated into a ship anytime soon," Ayeka cautioned, "I'm afraid that _Ryu-Oh_ still has quite a ways to go. Still, progress has definitely been made."

"How's my ship doing?" asked Sasami.

Ayeka smiled. "Very well. We did not go out to inspect it in person, but Lady Sally did send us some pictures. It's recovering quite nicely, Sasami. In fact, the Royal Tree at the heart of your ship may be ready for reintegration even sooner than _Ryu-Oh_."

"It helps that it didn't land in the middle of a lake," Washu quipped.

Deciding now was as good a time as any, Heero dug into one of his bags and started pulling out the souvenirs he'd purchased the others while in the capital. The first was a bottle of fine red wine, which he passed over to Ryoko.

"For you," he said, "I did promise I'd get you something, after all?"

Ryoko beamed as she took the bottle. "Oh, this looks good! You really are the best, Heero!"

She then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "If you want, I'll swing by your room tonight and we can pop it open. What do you say, handsome? Up for a little private wine tasting?"

"You shall do no such thing!" snapped Ayeka.

Ignoring the two of them as they descended into their usual bout of arguing and trying to suppress the slight rush of heat that had gone to his face with that kiss, Heero pulled a book out of his bag and passed it to Kiyone. "I wasn't sure what to get you, but I saw this and thought you might enjoy it."

Kiyone's eyes widened as she saw the title: _To Protect And Serve: A History of the Brussels P.D._ "Whoa… that's your capital's police force, right? Thanks! I'll definitely check it out later tonight."

"What about me?" asked Mihoshi.

"I've got you covered," Heero replied as he pulled out a red gift bag and passed it to her.

Mihoshi grinned when she opened it and saw that it was full of chocolate. "Yes! This is the good stuff, right?"

"Best chocolate in the capital," said Heero, "and I made sure to only get the kind that you like."

Mihoshi threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Heero!"

"Anytime," he replied as he did his best to gently extricate himself from her grip; she was stronger than she looked.

"Mmmm, that looks good," said Sasami, her mouth watering over Mihoshi's gift.

"Don't worry," said Heero as he pulled out another bag of treats, "I got some for you, too."

Sasami smiled. "Thank you so much, Heero!"

"Now it's not just candy," said Ayeka, "I helped Sir Heero pick out a balanced gift bag for you. He paid good money for that, so I expect you to eat it all, is that clear?"

Sasami nodded enthusiastically. "You got it!"

Ryo-Ohki started bouncing up and down on the couch. "Meow! Meow!"

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly as he reached down and pat the living starship on the head. "Don't worry; I didn't forget about you."

Digging into his bag, he pulled out a small red bag that was tied off at the end with a black string. Undoing the string, he let some of the contents spill out onto the table in front of the couch.

"Carrot-flavored chews," he said as he unwrapped one of the orange candies and passed it to the furball, "Try one."

Ryo-Ohki took a cautious sniff of his hand before gobbling up the treat. She quickly wolfed it down, and the light in her eyes told Heero all he needed to know.

" _Meow!_ " she cried, little bits of sticky orange candy clinging to her teeth.

"You're welcome," said Heero before scooping the other candies back into the bag and passing it to Sasami, "You can decide how much she gets to eat per day. You seem to have a better understanding of her than I do."

Sasami nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Heero!"

"Hey, what about me?" pouted Ryoko, "Ryo-Ohki's my ship! I'm pretty sure I know her better than Sasami does!"

"Perhaps," said Heero, "but you have no sense of restraint. You'd spoil her, Ryoko; don't bother denying it."

Ryoko chuckled. "Well, I can't argue with that."

Heero stood up and grabbed his bags. "I'm going upstairs to unpack. Sasami, you and I will start making dinner when I come back down, all right?"

"Actually," said Kiyone, "why don't you get some rest when you're done unpacking? Sasami and I can handle dinner tonight."

"Are you sure?" asked Heero.

Kiyone smiled. "We did all right for ourselves while you were away, and I'm fine with cooking one more night. You look pretty beat, Heero, so why don't you take some time to catch your breath?"

"We'll call you when dinner's ready," said Sasami, "so go take a nap, okay?"

That sounded good to Heero; he definitely wouldn't mind the chance to sleep off the jetlag. "All right, then. Thanks."

"Anytime," Kiyone replied.

"Don't sleep too long," chirped Mihoshi, "Kiyone's cooking has gotten pretty good lately!"

"She hasn't set anything on fire, at least," Ryoko muttered, "Unlike you."

Ayeka yawned. "I think I'll do the same. Travel on your world's planes can be a surprisingly tiring experience."

"What do you expect?" said Washu as she headed off to her lab, "That's what happens you take long trips in antiques. Save me some food, okay? I'm gonna be busy for a little while."

Sasami nodded. "Got it!"

Heero's eyes narrowed. "What do you have to work on?"

Washu smiled. "Oh, just a few minor projects I put on ice before we left. Don't worry; it's nothing that'll put the house at risk."

There was something about her demeanor that didn't quite sit right with Heero. She seemed evasive, and she'd been a little withdrawn on the trip back to Japan. Something was up, but since Heero didn't have any proof there was nothing he could really do at the moment.

"All right," he said after a moment, "Just don't forget to grab some food later. It's not healthy to skip meals."

"Worried about me, handsome?" Washu replied with a wink, "That's cute. Well, if you're so concerned, you're more than welcome to join me in the lab. I wouldn't mind a little one-on-one time!"

"Washu…" growled Ryoko.

"Just what are you up to?" asked Ayeka, looking more than a little agitated herself.

"Nothing!" said Washu with a smirk before closing the door behind her.

Heero shook his head before heading upstairs; he was too tired to deal with any drama from his guests right now. As soon as he got to his room he shut the door, dropped his bags on the floor, and plopped down on the bed.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

….

 _A shame he didn't take me up on the offer_ , thought Washu as she sat down at the main console in her lab, _I was only half joking when I suggested the one-on-one time…_

Back in the capital she'd only had a very brief amount of time to skim the contents of the file she'd snatched from Preventers' system before their journey back to Japan. Washu had been itching to dive into it in detail at the earliest opportunity, and once she was situated she immediately brought up the file. She would take her time to go over all the data in earnest, but right now there was one particular morsel that she wanted to take a look at, one that she had glimpsed during her first opening of the file but hadn't had time to fully appreciate until now.

It took just a few seconds for her to pull it up. The content was labeled as combat footage taken from a weapons system labeled 'Tallgeese'. From the time she'd spent with Heero so far she was aware that not too long ago mechanized warfare on this planet had been conducted with weapons known as 'mobile suits', but her host had not provided her with any concrete information beyond that. During her initial skimming of the file she had come across what had appeared to be part of a record of a clash between two such machines, and it was one particular piece of footage from that incident that had caught her eye and demanded a second look.

On the screen she saw what the file data had labled the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam. It was certainly an intriguing machine; Washu had never seen anything quite like it before. A white and blue mechanized fighting unit with yellow trim, a green sensor sphere embedded in its chest and two emerald 'eye' sensors, the mobile suit definitely cut an imposing figure. A crimson shield was mounted on its left arm, while its right held a very large and fearsome looking rifle. However, the unit itself was only of secondary interest to Washu. The primary object of her attention was the young man that was standing on the mobile suit's open hatch. If she had to guess, the boy was in his mid-teens at the most, but there was no mistaking his identity; it was Heero Yuy.

The image was currently frozen, and it showed him with his right arm raised in front of him. Zooming in, Washu could spot a grey cylindrical device clenched in his hand. The purpose of the device was immediately demonstrated when Washu resumed the footage; with a click of the button on the end, the Wing Gundam became a crimson fireball.

Washu had already watched this footage on the night that she had hacked into Preventers' database and stolen the file in the first place, and she had been utterly horrified the first time she'd seen it. The second time around wasn't any better even with that prior experience, and it was made all the worse with the higher quality images that the console in her lab was capable of providing. The cameras mounted on the Tallgeese captured all too clearly an utterly haunting image of Heero lying on the ground in a growing pool of his own blood before he was scooped up by a red, orange and white unit the file identified as the XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms.

"Damn…" she whispered, "It's a miracle he survived…"

Survive he had, of course, but that wasn't the most striking aspect of the affair. During her medical examination of Heero after the encounter with Nagi she'd convinced him to remove his shirt, in part out of necessity but also for her own viewing pleasure. While Heero did have his fair share of minor scars, what she had just witnessed should've left his back marred by nasty burns at the very least. However, apart from a handful of faded wounds there had been no sign of serious injury.

It was just one more piece of evidence that the discovery her lab equipment had made prior to the trip to Brussels was indeed correct. No ordinary human could've come away from that blast without being seriously marked by it, and even with advanced medical technology and sufficient time to heal there would still be signs of the trauma the explosion had inflicted upon him.

 _But you're not an ordinary human, Heero Yuy_ , she thought, _Oh, no… not even_ close _to normal. It would take far more than a blast like_ that _to kill you…_

….

 **November 11** **th** **, A.C. 198**

"Well, now," said Katsuhito with a smile as Heero climbed the last of the stairs leading up to the shrine, "It's certainly been a while, hasn't it?"

"I was away on business," he replied, "I just got back yesterday."

Katsuhito nodded as he continued to sweep the area surrounding the shrine. "I see, I see. Was your trip productive?"

"Quite so," said Heero, "Did the girls come by here at all while I was away?"

The shrine keeper shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. I was tempted to head on over and visit just to check in. In fact, had you not shown up here today I may well have done that later this afternoon. Tell me, how are those lovely guests of yours?"

"They're doing well," said Heero, "I'll see if they want to come along next time I visit here."

Katsuhito chuckled. "Well, I certainly wouldn't mind it if you brought them. They definitely brighten this place up a bit. I'm assuming you didn't come all the way up here for a social call, correct?"

Heero nodded. "If you're not busy, I was hoping for another match. I could use the exercise."

The priest smiled. "Sounds fun! I could always use a break from the cleaning. I'll be right back."

As the shrine keeper headed off to grab the wooden practice swords, Heero leaned against one of the stone lanterns that dotted the shrine. He glanced over at the nearby tree line for a moment before shaking his head. He'd felt like he was under observation ever since he'd left the house a little while ago, but he hadn't been able to find any trace of someone watching him from the shadows.

 _Stop being paranoid_ , he thought, _I doubt Nagi's back already. You're just being jumpy because of what happened last time. Just relax and enjoy yourself._

Little did he know that his suspicions had some very real grounding in reality. Perched on the branch of one of the nearby trees was a small mechanical insect, very much like the drone that Nagi had used to observe him and the others prior to her attack. This device didn't belong to a bounty hunter, though.

It belonged to Washu.

….

Washu smiled as she saw the priest and her host take up positions across from each other, their wooden swords raised. "All right. Time for the show to start!"

She might've been crossing an ethical line or two in spying on him like this, but Washu felt it was justified in light of the information she had found in Heero's personnel file. Besides, it wasn't like she had him under constant surveillance. She had developed the bug-drone only to watch him when he left the house to train or visit the shrine keeper, and given that they almost always wound up sparring the latter was more or less the same as the former. Washu was very keen for any chance to observe the young man when he was engaged in any intense physical activity; it was vital for the research data that she was gathering on him.

The two combatants nodded before rushing towards each other. Heero quickly seized the initiative, opening things up with a rain of vertical blows. Washu didn't doubt that the strength behind each attack was impressive, but the old man was batting them aside without so much as breaking a sweat. The priest might not have youth on his side, but his skills seemed like they were more than enough to make up for that.

She watched as the shrine keeper fell back a few meters while fending off Heero's assault. That was when he flipped things around; he quickly parried the young man's next attack before making a swift thrust. Heero was able to deflect the strike, but in that moment the old man suddenly surged forward, and now it was the Preventers operative that was on the defensive.

Washu's eyes narrowed as her attention turned from Heero to Katsuhito. The way the old man was fighting looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen it before. Going back and forth between him and Heero, she was struck by a sense of déjà vu with regards to both combatants.

 _Think, damn it_ , she mentally berated herself, _If this feels familiar, there has to be a reason for it! Nothing about the events surrounding this boy is coincidental, I'm sure of it. That means there's something at work here too, and I'm just not seeing it._

It took a few more minutes of observation before the pieces started to fall into place. Washu had seen enough swordfights in her time that she could follow them easily enough, and it was thanks to that knowledge that she was able to recognize several slight openings that the priest could've used to end the fight but didn't. It wasn't that the old man was _unaware_ of those small gaps in Heero's defenses, but that he was simply choosing not to take advantage of them. Also, the longer the fight went on, the more alike the two combatants' swordplay became. That led Washu to one conclusion; the priest wasn't simply sparring with Heero for exercise and entertainment, but was using the fight to actually _train_ the young man without his knowledge. More importantly, Washu was beginning to realize why their swordplay was familiar; she _had_ seen this style before.

It was _Juraian_ swordplay.

"No way…" she said softly, blinking rapidly to make sure she was seeing this right, "Does that mean...?"

Renewing her focus on the shrine keeper, Washu could feel a few more lights start to click on in her mind. As he continued to press his assault on Heero, Washu became more and more confident that what she had previously considered to be wild theories were much closer to the truth than she'd first imagined. From the moment that she'd first met Heero, she'd had this sense that there was something familiar about him, although until the medical examination she'd had absolutely nothing to base that on. As she continued to study the fight, she realized that Heero wasn't the only one that gave her that feeling; she was starting to get the same vibe from the priest as well.

And she had a hunch that she knew why.

 _I'm gonna have to have a chat with the priest at some point_ , she mused with a smirk, _If he's who I think he is…_

 _…then we have a_ lot _of catching up to do._

….

Falling back under the shrine keeper's offensive, Heero kept his cool and focused on keeping his defenses tight. The old man might've had the initiative at the moment, but the opportunity would arise to seize it for himself; he just had to be patient and ready to pounce the moment the opportunity presented itself.

 _Easier said than done_ , he mused as he deflected a series of rapid-fire strikes, _The old man's a master with a sword. I bet Wufei would kill to throw down with him…_

Katsuhito chuckled as he kept up his attack. "Very good! Your discipline improves every time we fight. With enough practice you'll get so good that nothing I can throw your way will hit you."

Heero smirked; the priest was being far too generous. "Whatever you say, old man."

Shifting his _bokken_ downward, he redirected a vertical blow before finally launching his counterattack; a thrust right at the shrine keeper's stomach. At the very last possible moment Katsuhito was able to bring his wooden sword up to block the attack, but Heero refused to let it end there. Rushing forward, he began to push the old man back with a sequence of swift slashes, alternating high and low at random intervals to keep his opponent off balance.

The priest nodded and smiled as he weaved a virtual cocoon around himself with his blade, continuing to give ground but blocking all of Heero's attacks. "Excellent! Variety is the spice of life, and that applies to swordplay as well as anything else."

Heero didn't bother to answer; he was wholly focused on ending his losing streak and finally landing a hit on the old man. Katsuhito was right; he improved every time he sparred with the shrine keeper. His defenses became tighter while his attacks grew more precise with every exchange. Heero had never lacked for strength, but through these matches he was _refining_ his power, giving it greater direction and focus without sacrificing its intensity. Sword fighting might've been an archaic form of combat, but for the Gundam pilot it was a superb method for training body and mind, bringing both of them closer together and refining reflexes and coordination.

He made a swift overhand strike, aiming for the priest's shoulder. However, he quickly realized that was the wrong more to make; his foe immediately parried the attack before countering with a slash at Heero's stomach. The Preventers operative was able to deflect the blow, but in the process he gave up his momentum. That was all Katsuhito needed to push forward, and once again Heero found himself on the defensive.

The old man came at him faster than before, and it was all Heero could do to keep his footing and bock the incoming strikes. Katsuhito unleashed a flurry of rapid slashes, all of them aimed at Heero's legs; if he wasn't careful the priest was going to knock him flat on his back. Rolling to the side, Heero tried to regain the offensive by striking at the shrine keeper's knees, but the old man was ready for him and effortlessly parried the attack before renewing his assault.

The priest smirked as Heero continued to narrowly block his attacks. "Not bad, but how long can you keep this up?"

Heero didn't answer, but that didn't mean the old man had asked the wrong question. Heero's endurance was top notch in a fight, but Katsuhito was no ordinary foe. The slightest slipup would be all the priest would need to end the duel, and a sword fight was the shrine keeper's home turf, not Heero's. He might've been younger than Katsuhito, but the priest certainly didn't seem to lack for energy when it came to a _Kenjutsu_ contest. If the old man was tiring he gave no sign of it; his focus remained razor-sharp even when he chuckled or bantered with his foe.

Deciding to shake things up a bit, Heero feinted low before leaping up over his opponent. Coming down in a flip and landing behind the priest, the Gundam pilot took a swing at his enemy's back, but Katsuhito was ready for him; he brought his _bokken_ behind his back and swatted Heero's strike aside with just one hand holding his weapon. He then whirled around and advanced on Heero again, unleashing a cyclone of slashes against the Preventers operative.

Ducking beneath a strike, Heero made a sweeping kick, trying to knock the priest on his back. In a single fluid motion, Katsuhito leaped over his leg and landed just behind Heero. The young man rushed to bring his blade up into guard, but it was too late; his enemy landed a solid hit on his right shoulder and sent him to the ground.

Katsuhito smiled and held out his hand. "And that would be the match. Very well fought, young man!"

Heero couldn't help but chuckle as the shrine keeper helped him to his feet. "Not well enough. I didn't even come close. Just like all the times before…"

The priest shook his head and patted him on the back. "Now, now, there's no need for that sort of talk. Your skills continue to grow with each match. There aren't many out there who can match you for tenacity, you know?"

 _You have no idea, old man_ , Heero mused, his mind flashing back to the explosive end of the battle in Siberia over three years ago, _I'm pretty hard to kill, and I would know; I can't even take_ myself _out._

He didn't say that to the shrine keeper, of course. "I've heard that I can be a little… stubborn."

Katsuhito laughed. "I'm sure you have! If nothing else, you certainly possess the determination of a warrior. With a little more refinement you'll be a force of nature as a swordsman."

Heero smirked. "I think that's still a long ways off, but thanks."

"You're quite welcome," the priest replied, "Care to go another round?"

Heero shook his head. "I think that's enough for one day. I need to be heading back; Sasami will have lunch ready soon."

The shrine keeper nodded and smiled. "Well, you certainly wouldn't want her cooking to go cold. Next time you visit, why don't you bring her by; I've got a few spare ingredients that she could use to spice up her tea, if she'd care to have some."

Heero nodded. "I'll be sure to let her know. Until next time."

"I'll be looking forward to it," said the priest as Heero headed towards the stairs.

 _That was nice_ , he thought as he slowly made his way back home, _I actually missed those sparring matches when I was back in the capital. I'll have to swing by again real soon._

It was strange to consider such intense duels to be a form of leisure activity, but to Heero that's precisely what they were. While he definitely considered them to be a way to train and keep his mind and body sharp, he wouldn't deny that he also partook in swordfights with the shrine keeper because he actually enjoyed them. It was quite fun to physically test himself without actually putting his life on the line, and it was certainly a nice change of pace from his normal missions to be able to fight without taking life in the process. There were no consequences for those fights beyond a few scrapes and bruises, along with a slight hit to his ego, and Heero was more than willing to pay that price if it meant he could continue to engage in practice bouts with his friend.

 _Yeah… I guess the old man really is a friend_ , he mused, _I never imagined I'd think of someone like him as a friend, but he is all the same. Actually, he kind of reminds me of Howard; he's pretty relaxed most of the time. If he's got any worries, he doesn't let them get him down._

He wished that he could be as easy-going as the shrine keeper. While his time with the girls had helped him 'loosen up' a bit, as a certain Gundam pilot from the L2 colonies might put it, Heero was still all too aware of the responsibility that rested on his shoulders. Even if Ryoko and Ayeka had promised to help him should another threat arise, Heero still considered himself to be the first line of defense, and that was not a duty that he took lightly. It was reassuring to know that he could count on some very powerful backup in the event of a hostile encounter, but Heero wanted to do all he could to avoid that sort of scenario in the first place. That meant first and foremost keeping a low profile, and being back in the Japanese countryside helped out considerably.

His mind briefly flashed back to the confrontation in the soccer stadium with Ayeka's drunken would-be assailant. He'd dispatched the threat quickly enough, and he had done so without lethal force, but there was something about the encounter that had bothered him ever since. Escorting Ayeka and keeping her safe was naturally a mission that Heero had taken with the utmost seriousness, but even so he had surprised himself with the cold fury that he had unleashed on the drunkard. He'd gone straight for the man's throat, and it would've been all too easy for him to snap the target's neck. His restraint had held, but Heero had come much closer to unleashing what he considered to be the dark beast within himself than the situation had called for. Ayeka had said nothing, but Heero knew that she had sensed something within him in that encounter, and he was aware that she had been considerably bothered by it.

 _What got into me back there?_ , he thought, _When I grabbed that man, part of me wanted nothing more than to choke the life out of him. That wasn't a lethal force scenario, but I almost treated it like one. Was it because he was threatening a friend?_

Yes, much like Ryoko, Heero considered Ayeka to be a friend. He felt similarly about the rest of the women that had taken up residence with him, but there was something about the pirate and the princess that had a deeper resonance with him. Was it because they had been the first two alien females that he had encountered and subsequently taken up guardianship over? The bond between the two of them and Heero had certainly more time to develop than his relationships with the rest of the girls, but was that all there was to it? Heero couldn't say, and it bothered him that he didn't have an answer. He had to be able to maintain his composure and professionalism whenever he was out in public with the ladies he had custody over; allowing his personal feelings to dictate his reactions to potential threats could potentially compromise his mission. Heero might've believed that people should live their lives by acting on their emotions, but there was a difference between that and being ruled by them and it was a line the young man tried not to cross.

"Keep it together," he muttered, "They don't need to see the killer within you."

Granted, he did feel a bit guilty about hiding just who he really was from his guests, but at the moment Heero really didn't feel like giving them the full rundown on his past was the best idea right now. He wanted to do everything in his power to look after them, and that would be much harder to accomplish if they were afraid of him…

…even if that fear was completely warranted.

 _Someday, perhaps_ , he thought, _I can't hide who I really am from them forever. Ryoko, Kiyone and Washu would probably handle it the best. Ayeka's a borderline case; I think she's built up an image of me that's a bit too idealized. As for Mihoshi and Sasami… I don't know if their innocence could take that hit. I'd rather leave it intact for the time being._

He sighed and shook his head. "Who am I trying to fool? I'm just afraid..."

 _Afraid to lose them._

 _Afraid of them turning their backs on me._

 _Afraid of…_

 _…being alone again._

Yes, as strange as it was for a man like him, what he was really afraid of was the truth of his past pushing the others away from him. Heero had survived on his own in the past, and had done so quite well, but something within him had changed since the day he'd met Ryoko and Ayeka. While at first he might've seen his alien guests as an imposition, the truth of the matter was that his lovely companions had grown on him considerably. He really had become quite attached to them, and he was genuinely afraid of alienating them by revealing just who he really was. He didn't know if they would still accept him if they found out just how much blood he really had on his hands, and that scared him far more than he was willing to admit.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. This was supposed to be just another mission, albeit one that was quite a few steps removed from the kind of assignments that he was familiar with. He was supposed to watch over the girls, and while he certainly didn't mind the fact that he had become friends with them in the process he hadn't realized just how attached to them he'd become. To make matters worse, he had absolutely no idea how to handle that.

 _I can handle combat just fine_ , he mused, _but people? That's always been an area I've struggled with. The fact that they're all girls really doesn't help…_

"Heero!" cried a very familiar voice from up above.

Heero didn't have to look to know that it was Ryoko that was calling his name. On another occasion he might've tried to dodge as she plunged down from the sky and threw her arms around him, but right now he was just too distracted to try. At least he was able to keep her from knocking him off his feet.

"Ryoko," he said with a sigh, "What have I told you about flying around like that?"

Ryoko smiled. "Oh, come on, Heero; it's not like there's anyone around who's going to see me out here! Besides, I really wanted to see you! You only just got back yesterday; we need to catch up!"

"I was only gone for a week," said Heero as he tried to extricate himself from Ryoko's arms.

Ryoko was having none of it, and only squeezed him harder. " _Only_ a week? It felt like _forever_ , Heero! Don't you know how worried I was? Ayeka had you all to herself; she could've tried _anything_!"

"Nothing happened," Heero replied, trying to ignore how she was pressing her breasts up against his chest, "Now please, let go."

She did so, her smile fading as she took a closer look at him. "Hey, are you okay? You look a little down."

Heero shook his head. "It's nothing. I just lost another match to the priest. No matter what I try, I can't seem to touch him."

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so. You've lost to him plenty of times before, but I've never seen it bother you. It's something else."

Not for the first time, Heero was reminded of just how perceptive Ryoko could be when she put her mind to it. It was a sharp contrast from the image of a selfish, lazy, impulsive and free-spirited woman that she normally projected. He was also struck by the fact that she seemed genuinely _worried_ right now; a rare sight indeed when it came to the lovely pirate.

 _Would it be all right_ , he thought, _if I told_ her _?_

Of all the women Heero was currently residing with, he felt that Ryoko was the one who might best understand him if he told her about his past. After all, from what she'd told him about hers, she was used to being on the wrong side of the law. However, there was a serious difference between piracy and the kind of death and destruction that Heero had caused. It would be one thing if he'd committed conventional crimes that she could relate to, but he'd gone well past that during his time with the colonial rebellion; assassination and bombings were _not_ the same as thievery and armed robbery.

"Heero," said Ryoko, surprising him by tenderly caressing his cheek, "You know you can talk to me, right?"

This rare display of her gentle side had him off balance; it wasn't often that she let this kind of compassion and concern show. It certainly wasn't helping his internal dilemma.

 _Don't tempt me_ , he thought, _I might actually go for it…_

It was a strange thing for his head and his heart to be in such a conflict. There were plenty of reasons for him to keep the truth of his past hidden, even from Ryoko, but the urge to tell her was there all the same, and it was stronger than Heero had expected. Was it just because she had caught him at a bad time, or was it because it was Ryoko _specifically_ offering her ear to him? For all he knew, it could've been a bit of both.

His head winning out over his heart this time, Heero shook his head and pulled back. "I appreciate that, Ryoko, but I'm all right. Really."

He was lying through his teeth, and he hated himself for it. After all, Ryoko had told him plenty about her past after the encounter with Ryoko, so if he owed anyone a similar explanation it was her. Be that as it may, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Ryoko gave him a skeptical look, and Heero was afraid for a moment that she might press the matter. If she did, he wasn't sure if he was in any condition to resist further. A second later he saw her relax and shrug; he'd dodged the bullet.

"If you say so," she said, "Still, if you ever need someone to shoot the breeze with, just ask, okay? I might just save some of that wine you bought me for an occasion like that!"

Her tone might've been casual, but Heero could tell from her demeanor that she was being sincere. It actually meant a lot to him, knowing that she really was willing to listen if he had something to get off of his chest.

Heero nodded. "I might take you up on that sometime."

Ryoko grinned. "Well, the booze and I will be ready and waiting!"

Heero couldn't help but chuckle, his mood getting a little lighter all thanks to the lovely rogue that now called his planet home. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Ryoko replied before putting her arm around him, "So, you still can't beat the old man, eh? Want some help with that? I could try to distract him the next time you two fight. I've got a few tricks up my sleeves!"

"I'm sure you do," said Heero, "but I'll take a pass on that. It won't mean all that much if I can't beat him without help."

Ryoko shook her head. "Not the way I see it. A win's a win, Heero!"

"Under other circumstances," Heero replied, "I might agree with you. This isn't one of them, though. If I can't beat him on my own then I won't really be able to measure how much my skills have improved. Besides, I think the old man deserves a fair fight."

Ryoko smirked. "Well, if you ever change your mind, the offer will be on the table!"

Heero nodded. "I'll try to remember that. Come on; let's head back."

He continued down the stairs, with Ryoko pausing only long enough to remove her arm from his shoulder and instead loop it through his arm. The gesture caught the young man off guard, but he didn't turn it down. There was actually something comforting to her presence at the moment, and he wanted to enjoy it as long as he could.

 _As long as Ayeka or any of the others don't spot us_ , he mused, _I doubt they would react well to this…_

For her part, Ryoko had a contented smile on her face as the two of them continued to descend the long path of stone steps. It was quite rare for Heero to see her like this. There was no mischievous look in her eyes, no snarky quip on her lips, and nothing to set off her rather short fuse. She looked relaxed, which wasn't unusual in and of itself, but there was also a sense of genuine peace and warmth radiating from her that definitely wasn't normal for her. It was a seldom seen side of her, and for Heero it felt good to know that he could bring this sort of gentleness out of her. For him, it was a sign of how she was more than just the wanted criminal that the galaxy at large new her as. She was a lovely and vibrant woman, and seeing her like this made the stinging defeat he'd suffered at Nagi's hands on her behalf entirely worth it.

"You know," she said as she looked around, "I'm not usually the type to stop and smell the roses, but… it's very pretty out here. I'm glad your bosses sent us out this way."

Heero nodded as he took in the surrounding trees, ablaze with the oranges, reds, and yellows of autumn. "So am I. You definitely can't get a view like this in the capital."

"How long will it stay like this?" asked Ryoko as a cool breeze tossed several leaves around them.

"A couple more weeks," said Heero, "The winter snows should come in soon enough."

Ryoko smiled. "Ryo-Ohki will like that. She loves playing in that stuff."

"I'm sure the others will enjoy it too," said Heero, "If nothing else, I imagine Mihoshi and Sasami will have some fun when it starts falling."

"Not just them," said Ryoko, "I wouldn't mind getting into a snowball fight with you if you're up for it."

Heero nodded. "I wouldn't mind that either."

Ryoko grinned. "Great! I can't wait to kick your ass!"

Heero couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't get too full of yourself. I don't go down that easily, you know."

His companion smirked. "Good. If you don't put up a decent fight it won't be any fun. Then again, who says we have to fight each other? We could just team up against Ayeka and the others! The two of us can probably take them."

"Perhaps," Heero replied, "but they might have something to say about the setup of the teams."

"What would they have to complain about?" asked Ryoko, "They'll outnumber us, so they shouldn't whine!"

Heero shook his head. "I meant that Ayeka might have a bone to pick with how you want the teams arranged."

"Hey!" Ryoko barked, "There's no way in hell I'm letter her get you on _her_ team! She got to go to Brussels with you, so _I_ get to have _you_ on my team when the time comes for the snowball fight."

Heero shrugged. "If you say so."

The rest of their trek down the stairs passed in relative silence, but it wasn't an awkward one. Quite the contrary; Heero enjoyed the walk, and he couldn't help but feel somewhat reluctant as the house eventually came into view. Was their one-on-one time really over already?

 _No reason it has to be quite yet_ , he mused, his gaze falling on the tree in the middle of the lake.

He started moving in that direction, gently pulling Ryoko along with him. "Come on. We don't need to head inside right away, do we?"

Ryoko looked from him to the tree and back again before smiling. "I think we can wait awhile. I'll follow your lead, Heero."

Soon enough he was at the edge of the lake and taking the first step onto the string of stones that led out to the island. Ryoko simply floated alongside him, and a few moments later the two of them were sitting down beneath the tree, their backs resting against the trunk.

"Huh," said Ryoko as she looked up, "That's weird."

"What is?" asked Heero, following her gaze.

"The leaves," she replied, "They haven't changed as much on this tree as they have on the others."

That was something that Heero had actually caught a while ago, but it was still good to see that some of the others were noticing it too. The foliage of the tree they were resting against had somewhat shifted, but there was still plenty of green to be seen in its canopy. It definitely stood out when one compared it to the surrounding flora, and Heero was rather curious as to what made this tree different from the others in this environment.

"You're right," said Heero, "It's pretty strange."

Ryoko shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm no plant expert, so I'm not going to try to figure it out. Washu can take a crack at it if she wants to."

The mention of the mad scientist's name stirred a memory for Heero. He recalled that the red-head had shown an interest in the tree as well, although she hadn't seen fit to elaborate on that. Would she give him more information if he asked her now? Somehow Heero doubted that; Washu seemed like the type who enjoyed knowing things that others didn't.

"Hey," said Ryoko after a moment, "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Heero was struck by her uncharacteristic hesitation, but nodded all the same. "Go ahead."

Ryoko looked down, and Heero couldn't quite tell if she was apprehensive or embarrassed. "When you and Ayeka were in the capital… nothing happened between you two, right?"

Heero shook his head. "No."

Ryoko smiled, looking quite relieved. "Good. I… I really was worried when you were away, you know."

"It's not like it was just the two of us," said Heero, "Washu was there as well."

"But even if it was just the two of you," Ryoko pushed, "nothing would've happened then, right?"

Heero shook his head again. "No."

He was being completely honest with her. While it wasn't hard to tell that Ayeka had feelings for him, Heero couldn't quite say that he reciprocated them. He definitely had a bond with the princess, and the incident at the soccer match in the capital had demonstrated that he was more than willing to protect her, but what he felt towards Ayeka didn't strike him as a romantic vibe. He did care for her, but there was something about that sentiment that was different than what he imagined romantic affection was supposed to feel like. With her, it felt more akin to what he supposed being with a close family member might be like, although he had nothing to really base that on and had no idea why that sort of sentiment came to mind.

His lack of hesitation in answering her seemed to put Ryoko at ease. "All right. I trust you, Heero. Hell, after all of the crap I've put you through I think I owe you that much."

Heero closed his eyes, savoring the cool breeze. "You don't owe me anything, Ryoko. Protecting you is my responsibility. I'm not doing this for favors."

His eyes snapped open when he felt Ryoko rest her head on his shoulder. "I know. You're a really good guy, Heero. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

 _Anyone but myself_ , he thought ruefully, _but I don't have the heart to tell her that now…_

"Hey," she said, "Got something else I want to ask you. Do you mind?"

Heero shook his head. "Go ahead."

"If you could be anything you wanted," she said, "what would it be?"

Heero raised an eyebrow; where was this coming from? "Why do you ask?"

"Because I think you're meant for more than this," she replied "Don't get me wrong; I think it's great that you work so hard to protect people. Still, a guy like you staying a simple peacekeeper for the rest of his life? I don't buy it."

"There's nothing 'simple' about my work," said Heero, "The fact that I'm watching over you and the others right now should be proof enough of that."

Ryoko shook her head. "That's not what I meant. Yeah, you've got a tricky job, but you've got the skills to do that and a hell of a lot more. It's a waste for someone like you to be stuck way out here in the backwoods as nothing more than a soldier. You can be so much more than that. The galaxy's a big place, Heero; you could totally make your mark out there."

"I didn't even know there was a wider galactic civilization until you and Ayeka got into a fight up in orbit," said Heero, "and since my jurisdiction is limited to the Earth Sphere it's not like I've taken the time to think about what I might do should I leave it."

"But you could, you know?" said Ryoko with a wink, "All you have to do is ask and I'll have you out of this system before your bosses realize that you've flown the coop!"

For some reason Heero couldn't pin down, her offer was considerably more tempting than it should have been. "I can't just leave my post, Ryoko. I don't even know what I would do if I went out into the wider galaxy."

"Why not just fly around with me?" asked Ryoko, "I could show you the sights, and whenever we need some cash we could just hit a bank or transport; they're pretty easy to rob after you've had a little practice!"

Heero shook his head. "The sightseeing bit sounds nice, but not the robbery part. That's not who I am, Ryoko."

"Oh, come on!" Ryoko pushed, "I think you'd make a great outlaw, Heero! You're already pretty good in a fight; I'd just have to teach you the other tricks of the trade and you'd be all set. We'd be unstoppable together!"

 _I have a feeling that I already know at least a few of those 'tricks of the trade'_ , he mused, _I_ was _part of an insurrection against the UESA and OZ, after all. That really just makes me a different kind of outlaw than what Ryoko's used to._

"Sorry," he said, "I just don't see myself taking up the pirate's life, Ryoko."

"Well, then what kind of life _would_ you take up, Heero?" she asked, "There's got to be _something_ out there that you want!"

Heero sighed. "If there is, then I have no idea what it is. I've never really given much thought about life beyond my missions, Ryoko. This is the life that I know."

"But it's not the life that you _want_ , is it?" Ryoko pressed, "Come on, Heero; can you honestly tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life at the beck and call of the government? I'm sure that you do good work, but there _has_ to be something else out there for you!"

Heero looked up at the sky. He'd been content with his life serving in Preventers and protecting the people of the Earth Sphere, but he couldn't deny that Ryoko's words did resonate with him. Safeguarding the peace was important, and acting in the defense of others was a noble calling that helped him feel like he was at least trying to make up for the sins of his past, but was this really what he wanted? Living for the sake of others might've been admirable, but it meant putting aside _his_ desires… or forgetting what they were in the first place.

What sort of life _did_ he want? Would it truly satisfy him to remain in the service of Preventers, protecting the world at the expense of self-discovery? Or did part of him secretly want to break out of this mold, to find liberation and explore the world that he had defended up until now? Those were questions that he found impossible to answer; indeed, he had never even _asked them_ before now.

"Heero?" said Ryoko softly, "Are… are you okay? Did I say something wrong?"

Heero shook his head, unable to suppress a small smile. "I'm fine, Ryoko. You didn't say anything wrong. Quite the opposite, in fact."

It was true that he didn't know what he wanted beyond his current life as a Preventers operative, but at least now Ryoko had him trying to think about it. Heero doubted that he would find the answers he was looking for anytime soon, but he was fine with that. Whatever conclusion he ultimately came to, he knew that he would owe Ryoko a great debt for helping him set off down the road to finding out what exactly he wanted out of his life. Her idea of him joining her as a pirate was out of the question, however amusing he might find the prospect. However, the part she had mentioned about flying around the galaxy with her definitely had its appeal.

 _If I didn't have so many people to watch over_ , he mused, _I might've considered taking some time off. Travel around the Earth Sphere a little bit, revisit a few places as something other than a soldier… it would be nice to see the world from the perspective of a civilian instead of a fighter. Hell, I wouldn't mind travelling with Ryoko if it came to that; she'd make things entertaining, if nothing else. I'd have to rein in her criminal tendencies, but that's a challenge I'd be willing to take on._

He stood up and offered Ryoko his hand. "Come on, let's head back. It'd be a shame if the lunch Sasami made got cold."

As he pulled her to her feet he saw that she was still a little concerned. "Okay, but… are you sure you're doing all right?"

Heero nodded. "I am… and I have you to thank for that."

Ryoko's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" said Heero as he started across the stepping stones towards the shore.

"Well, no," Ryoko replied, still looking a bit confused as she floated alongside him.

"There you go, then," said Heero, "I'm quite all right, Ryoko. Thank you."

Ryoko looked like she was expecting him to elaborate a little further, but after a moment she appeared to give up on that. Instead she simply smiled.

"Anytime, Heero."

….

Washu smiled as she watched Heero and Ryoko on her monitor. "Well, now… that was quite educational."

She had debated whether or not she should continue to observe Heero with her bug when Ryoko had joined him on the stairs. His training round with the priest had already ended, and with it Washu had lost her main reason to spy on him today, but after a moment's deliberation she had decided to keep her little drone in action. It had not escaped her notice that, of all the girls currently residing in the countryside house, Heero seemed to have the best rapport with her daughter.

 _He's stuck his neck out for her at least a few times already_ , she mused, _and as selfish as she is, I know Ryoko appreciates it. He wouldn't do that just out of duty, though; he's built up a connection with her, whether he knows it or not._

That connection meant that there was the possibility of Heero letting his guard down if he and Ryoko had some one-on-one time, and that alone was reason enough for Washu to keep up her surveillance even after his training session with the shrine keeper had ended. Her personal experience with him combined with the information in his personnel file had given Washu a solid foundation, but there was still so much about the young man playing host to her that she wanted to understand, and she was not above eavesdropping on a private conversation to accomplish that end.

So Heero wasn't entirely satisfied with his current career? He hadn't actually said as much, but it wasn't hard for Washu to read between the lines. It wasn't exactly surprising to Washu that Heero might want something beyond his position as a Preventers operative, but it was still intriguing to hear him admit that not only did the possibility exist but that he wasn't even sure what it might be. She supposed that was to be expected; after all, from what she'd learned about him so far it was clear that he still didn't know much about life outside of the battlefield. He was doubtlessly aware that there were other options available to him, but he had no idea as to what path he could pursue outside of his current one.

That was something that Washu wanted to change. For her research to progress further it was important for Heero to seriously push back against the boundaries that he had unwittingly constructed in his life. Just being exposed to and interacting with Ryoko and the others had already helped kick-start the process; it was clear to Washu that he was looking at things from a different perspective now than how me might have before meeting his alien guests. That wasn't enough, though. She wanted Heero move beyond simple curiosity and pondering possibilities to actively exploring just what else life had to offer a man like him. He needed to not only question where he was in his life but to start figuring out where he really wanted to be going with it. Getting him to do that was a case of easier said than done, though. His current assignment was rather confining; he couldn't leave this countryside retreat because of his responsibilities towards Washu and the others, and she highly doubted that his superiors would let him take a solo vacation anytime soon.

How could she start pushing him outside of his comfort zone? That was the big question, and despite her genius Washu found herself at a bit of a loss for an answer. She was all for the hard sciences, but this felt like a task better suited to a psychologist; the 'soft sciences' and her didn't tend to get along very well.

 _I need to get him away from here_ , she thought, _I need to get him to a place where he feels liberated and has the means to make his own decisions. He's stuck here because of me and the others, though. Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to work around this? It'd almost be easier to create an entirely new world and just throw him into the middle of it._

Washu's eyes suddenly widened as the proverbial light clicked on in her head. She didn't need to make a new world.

She needed _Heero_ to make one.

And she had an idea about how to pull that off.

….

 **November 18** **th** **, A.C.198**

"It's been a whole week now," said Ayeka as she took a sip of her tea, "I must admit to being somewhat… concerned."

"I'm with you there," said Kiyone, "I wonder what she's been working on. Knowing her, it's probably illegal."

"I hope she's doing okay," said Sasami, "She hasn't even come out of there for meals. It's not healthy for her to stay cooped up in there like this!"

"You keep bringing her food, though," chirped Mihoshi, "I'm sure she's all right, Sasami!"

 _I don't know_ , thought Heero, glancing towards the closet door, _I haven't seen Washu hole herself up in her lab like this since she arrived here. I don't know why, but I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this…_

Washu retreating inside her lab for a while wasn't exactly unusual in and of itself; the red-headed mad scientist typically spent more time there than anywhere else in the house. It was fairly common for her to stay inside for a couple days at a time when she was working on something. However, she would still venture out for meals and to interact with the others, and Heero suspected that she also came out of her lab so she could observe _him_ , although he had no proof to back that up. For her to confine herself for a week straight with nary a peep to the others as to what she was up to was rather unnerving.

To his right he saw Ryoko shrug as she flipped through channels on the TV. "She's fine. Knowing her she's probably working on some 'brilliant invention' that will end up making our lives miserable. I say leave her to it."

"I heartily concur," said Azaka.

"It's best to leave her to her work," chirped Kamidake, "As long as she is preoccupied with other matters she is not devising ways to… subvert us."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "I thought Royal Guardians couldn't be subverted by anyone."

Ayeka glanced nervously at the lab. "So it is said. Washu has threatened in the past to prove that wrong, but… well, I'm sure it was a bluff. Even _she_ must have her limits… yes, it was just empty boasting on her part."

"You don't sound entirely confident of that," said Kiyone.

Ayeka folded her arms. "Well, excuse _me_ for hedging my bets! One can't put anything past that… that _maniac_!"

"Don't let her hear you say that," Ryoko quipped, "or else it'll be frog-time again."

"Well, the same will go for _you_ if I tell Washu what you said earlier!" Ayeka shot back.

"Hey!" Ryoko barked, "Not fair! You freaking _agree_ with me that she's nuts, for crying out loud! You don't get to sell me out over that!"

"Please don't start fighting again, you two!" begged Mihoshi, "We don't need you to make another mess of the living room again!"

"I could certainly do without that," Heero muttered as he took a sip of his tea while scratching behind Ryo-Ohki's ears.

"Meow…" murmured the living starship as she lounged on Heero's lap, although whether it was in agreement with his statement or contentment with his petting he could not say.

"Should I go check on her?" asked Sasami.

"Knock yourself out, kid," said Ryoko.

"That may not be wise, Sasami," said Ayeka, "Disturbing Washu during her research can be somewhat… hazardous."

"That's putting it mildly," Kiyone muttered, "At least she hasn't set anything on fire recently."

"Or blown anything up!" Mihoshi chimed in.

"Sometimes I'm amazed that this place is still standing," Azaka commented, "Miss Washu's experiments have certainly put it to the test."

"This dwelling must surely be blessed by Tsunami," chirped Kamidake, "Nothing else could explain its continued survival under these circumstances."

Ayeka sighed. "I fear all the divine protection in the universe may not be enough to protect this residence from that woman's madness. Sir Heero, is it truly impossible to convince Washu to set up a laboratory outside of our current domicile? Surely she must be capable of creating such a structure."

"She's comfortable where she is," Heero replied, "I doubt anything we say at this point will convince her to pack up and relocate, even if it would be a relatively short move."

Kiyone shrugged before taking another sip of her tea. "Well, even if she won't relocate, at least while she's in there she's not terrorizing us with the results of her experiments out here. We've finally got some peace and quiet, and I'd rather hold onto it for a little while."

Heero had a hard time arguing with Kiyone on that. Things had been pretty calm following his, Ayeka's, and Washu's return from the capital. Ryoko and Ayeka's fighting had actually been kept to a minimum, Mihoshi had miraculously refrained from breaking anything, and no extraterrestrial threats had seen fit to disturb them. This was a trend that Heero wholeheartedly approved of and wanted to last for as long as possible. That being said, he could not deny a growing sense of foreboding whenever he glanced in the direction of Washu's lab. Things might be quiet now, but he feared that the longer Washu remained cooped up in her lab meant that whatever experiment she was working on now would only prove all the more disastrous when it was finally unveiled.

 _I can't help but feel like I'm sitting on a time-bomb here_ , he mused darkly, _If Washu was capable of paying rent I'd be charging her extra for undue stress, not to mention the constant hazard she poses to the house…_

"I'm going to bring her some tea," said Sasami before heading off to the lab, "Someone needs to make sure she's staying healthy, after all!"

"Please be careful, Sasami!" said Ayeka nervously, "If you see anything untoward, I want you to come get us right away!"

Sasami smiled, and Heero had to wonder if her innocent expression was real or a _very_ convincing façade. "Okay!"

"She's a gutsy one," Ryoko muttered as the younger royal disappeared into the lab, "Either that or she's nuts."

"How dare you talk about my sister that way!" Ayeka barked, "I demand that you take your words back at once!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Hey, don't get mad at me just because I'm right! Your sister's sweet, but she's got a few screws loose, Ayeka."

"Sasami's innocent, not crazy," countered Kiyone, "and Washu's treated her well in the past. She's not at risk of any harm from her."

"Perhaps not intentional harm," said Ayeka as she glanced back at the lab, "but there is always the possibility that something could go wrong while she's in the lab."

"I'm sure that Washu will be careful while Sasami's back there," said Heero, although privately he wasn't entirely convinced of that.

"She'll be fine!" chirped Mihoshi with a smile, "You all worry too much, you know that?"

"Someone has to," Kiyone muttered.

"If you're so worried about her," said Ryoko with a smirk, "then why don't you go in there and check up on her, Ayeka?"

Ayeka gulped, not looking particularly thrilled at the prospect of venturing into Washu's lab, "I shall… if she does not return soon! Azaka and Kamidake shall accompany me, of course!"

"Oh, dear," said Azaka.

"I'm not looking forward to this," chimed Kamidake.

"For Royal Guardians, you two are sort of lacking in the bravery department," said Kiyone.

Ryoko chuckled. "No kidding. I've met pickpockets with more guts than these two oversized garden decorations."

"G-garden decorations!" sputtered Azaka indignantly, "Why, I've _never_ suffered an insult such as _that_ before!"

"How dare you belittle us!" squawked Kamidake, "You are just the _worst_ , Ryoko!"

Ryoko gave the guardians an evil grin. "And? Are you actually going to do something about it or just sit there and take it? I'm ready to throw down anytime you old relics are!"

"We restrained you once!" Azaka countered, "We can repeat the feat if necessary!"

"As soon as Princess Ayeka gives the word, we'll give you another demonstration of our power!" chirped Kamidake.

Ryoko waved dismissively. "Please. The only reason the two of you captured me the first time was because I was fighting Kiyone. Besides, I was holding back because I knew that Heero didn't want me to kill her or break you guys. If you two want to go another round, that's fine, but this time I won't be pulling my punches."

"No one is going to be fighting anyone today," said Heero firmly, "Is that clear?"

Ryoko sighed. "Fine. If Ayeka orders them to try something, though, all bets are off. You got that, Heero?"

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Heero replied before turning towards the princess, "Will it, Ayeka?"

Ayeka shook her head. "No, of course not. Azaka, Kamidake! Stand down!"

"Understood, Princess Ayeka!" the two guardians replied in unison.

"Thanks," said Heero as he took another sip of his tea, "I'd rather avoid having to clean up the mess a fight between you three would cause in here."

"I'm with you there, Heero," said Kiyone, "and I bet Ryo-Ohki is too; she looks pretty comfortable over there with you."

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki affirmed as Heero shifted his scratching to the back of her neck.

Heero looked back at the door to Washu's lab, his brow furrowing in concern. As much as he would like to stay out here, enjoy his tea and continue to pet Ryo-Ohki, he was feeling more anxious than ever now about his red-headed guest. Not only were his instincts telling him that something was up, but Sasami had been in the lab now for longer than Heero had thought she would be.

He sighed before gently nudging Ryo-Ohki off of his lap and standing up. "I'll be right back. I'm going to check on Sasami and Washu."

Ayeka's face paled. "Are you sure that's wise, Sir Heero?"

Heero shrugged. "Probably not, but I'm going all the same."

He was surprised to see Ryoko stand up as well. "I'm going too. I'm not letting you go in there alone. Who knows what she's cooked up in there over the week, right?"

Heero nodded, glad to have some backup before walking into what could be a dangerous situation. "Thanks."

Ayeka sighed before standing with them. "Then I shall go as well. I cannot be shown up by the likes of Ryoko, and I am worried about my sister. Let's get this over with, shall we? Azaka! Kamidake!"

"Here we go," said Azaka.

"If we must," chimed in Kamidake.

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "Well, if the rest of you are going in, Mihoshi and I might as well tag along. Depending on what Washu's working on this time we might actually have to arrest her."

"We can't do that, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi, "She's our friend!"

"She's also an infamous scientist who was exiled and sealed in a stasis pod for creating weapons capable of threatening the entire galaxy!" Kiyone shot back, "Get a hold of yourself, Mihoshi! If Washu's making weapons like the ones she created in the past then we have to do our duty!"

"I doubt she'll go quietly if that's the case," Ryoko muttered.

"Which is why we'll need the rest of you to help us if she's gone too far," said Kiyone, "Heero, I know Washu's under your custody, but still…"

Heero nodded. "It's all right, Kiyone; I understand. If she's built something that's truly a threat, then I'll do what I must."

 _I just hope it doesn't come to that_ , he silently nodded, _I'd rather avoid aiding in her arrest, but if she forces my hand…_

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, and Heero saw her hop off the couch and onto Heero's shoulder.

The Preventers operative couldn't help but chuckle. "You too, huh?"

Ryo-Ohki nodded. "Meow! Meow!"

Heero nodded. "All right. I hope you're ready for whatever we find back there."

"Hey!" snapped Ryoko, "Are we going or not?"

"Of course we're going!" said Ayeka firmly, "I am not letting my sister spend a second longer in that lab than necessary!"

Heero led the way to the lab door and slowly opened it. "Washu? Sasami?"

There was no answer, which left Heero with no choice. He cautiously stepped into the lab, with the others right behind him.

"Sasami!" yelled Ayeka, "Can you hear me?"

"You okay back there?" called Kiyone.

"Princess Sasami!" called Azaka and Kamidake.

"Did Washu like your tea?" asked Mihoshi, prompting facepalms from the rest of the group.

"Airhead," Ryoko muttered.

"Mihoshi!" snapped Kiyone, "We've got more important things to worry about right now than that!"

Mihoshi giggled. "Oh, right. Sorry, Kiyone!"

Ayeka shook her head. "How in the name of Tsunami have you remained on the force for so long?"

"You have no idea how many times I've asked that same question," Kiyone deadpanned.

"Stay focused," Heero chided them as they went deeper into the lab, "Sasami! Washu! Where are you?"

"Oh, hey Heero!" he heard Sasami reply from pretty far back.

"What's up?" Washu called, sounding entirely too casual for Heero's liking.

Ayeka's eyes widened in indignation. " _What's up?_ You've been back here for a week straight, and _that's_ the first thing you say to us? What are you up to, and what have you done with Sasami?"

"Sasami's fine!" Washu yelled, "And as for what I've been working on, I was actually just about to show you guys. Come on; hurry your asses back here!"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Great. Show and tell with a maniac. What could _possibly_ go wrong?"

"Now now, Ryoko," said Mihoshi with a wave of her finger, "It's not nice to call your mom names like that!"

Ryoko scowled at the blonde cop. "I swear, if Heero weren't here right now I would _end_ you."

"And _that's_ another count of threatening an officer added to your rap sheet," said Kiyone.

The pirate folded her arms. "Bite me!"

"Hey!" yelled Washu, "Are you guys coming or not? I'm not paid by the hour, you know!"

"I wasn't aware that she was paid at all," said Ayeka.

"Let's get this over with," said Heero as he led the group deeper into the lab.

"You guys have to see this!" he heard Sasami call, "It's incredible!"

"That sounds promising," Kiyone muttered.

"Not the word I'd use for it," Ryoko deadpanned.

 _Whatever it is_ , thought Heero as he saw light up ahead, _we'll know soon enough…_

A few meters further and he could make out both Sasami and Washu. They were both standing in front of a console, which in turn was mounted at the base of what appeared to be a large glass tank. Within the tank was a green sphere suspended in light green liquid and connected to its container by a series of wires. There was an orange circle in the middle of the sphere, and as Heero got closer he could see it actively looking around, almost like it was studying its environment.

"Over here!" cried Sasami as she waved at them.

Washu smiled. "About time you guys showed up!"

"Sasami!" cried Ayeka as she rushed towards her sister, "Are you all right? She hasn't done anything… _unnatural_ to you, has she?"

Sasami looked confused. "What are you talking about, Ayeka?"

The elder princess breathed a sigh of relief. "Never mind."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki as she hopped off Heero's shoulder and into Sasami's arms.

"Hey, Ryo-Ohki!" said Sasami with a grin, "Were you worried about me, too? Aw, you're so sweet!"

"I take it this contraption is the fruit of your labors over the past week?" asked Kiyone as she pointed at the sphere in the tank.

"It looks somewhat… ominous," said Azaka.

"That's one way to put it," chirped Kamidake.

"What is it?" asked Mihoshi.

Washu grinned. "I'm glad you asked. This is a little masterpiece that I've christened the Dimension Turner!"

"The what?" asked Ryoko, not sounding the least bit impressed.

"Dimension…Turner?" said Ayeka, looking more than a little apprehensive.

"Dare I ask what it does?" said Heero, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he actually was.

Washu nodded. "Simply put, it controls dimensions and cause and effect. Isn't it wonderful?"

Mihoshi blinked. "It does what?"

Washu rolled her eyes and groaned. "This device determines variable factors in time and space based on specified criteria."

Ryoko nodded. "And that means… what, exactly?"

Washu scowled. "Fine, I'll dumb it down even more! With this machine, you can create a nexus from the infinite possibilities that exist within space and time. Is that clear enough for you?"

"I'm… afraid not," said Ayeka sheepishly.

"Ditto," said Ryoko.

Washu hung her head, frustration clearly getting the better of her. "Aaagh! What the hell is wrong with you people? Do I have to beat it into your heads with a sledgehammer?"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Well, if you try using words that _normal people_ understand we might all get on the same page here!"

Washu glared at Ryoko. "Are you _trying_ to piss me off, daughter? That's not going to end well for you."

Heero stepped between the two of them, hoping to keep things from boiling over. "Easy, there. Washu, I'm sorry, but if you could please try to describe this device's function in more… layman's terms, I think we'll be able to follow you better."

"At least I'll be able to figure out if I have to arrest her or not," Kiyone muttered, "This is why I hate mad scientists…"

Washu sighed. "All right, then. Listen up, because this is the last explanation that you all get! This device has the ability to create whatever kind of world the user desires! Is _that_ clear enough for you?"

Heero's eyes couldn't help but widen slightly at that, and his was the _mildest_ reaction in the group. The ladies surrounding him looked absolutely floored, and he honestly couldn't blame them.

 _She can't be serious_ , he thought numbly, _This thing…_

 _…can create a world based on someone's desires?_

Ryoko gaped. "No way!"

Kiyone's face paled. "Seriously?"

"Unbelievable!" Ayeka murmured, looking downright awestruck.

"Impressive," said Azaka.

"Quite so," chirped Kamidake.

"It's amazing!" cried Sasami, her expression one of innocent glee.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner, Washu?" asked Mihoshi.

"I've been saying that from the get-go!" Washu snapped.

Ryoko grinned. "Say, I've got an idea. Washu, you don't suppose that I could borrow this thing for a little bit, do you?"

"Now wait just a minute!" barked Ayeka, pushing Ryoko aside, "Miss Washu, could you please lend that device to me? As Jurai's crown princess I solemnly swear it shall be put to good use!"

"Hey!" yelled Ryoko as she grabbed Ayeka from behind, "I asked her first! I've got dibs, you hear me?"

Ayeka squirmed in her grip. "Absolutely not! You have no right to such a device, you loathsome thief!"

"Oh, yeah?" Ryoko shot back, "Well neither do you, you royal brat!"

Washu started clearing her throat, looking increasingly agitated as their bickering went on. She scowled at the two women, and Heero feared what might come next. Ryoko and Ayeka, however, were completely oblivious to that potential threat.

"It is _my_ right to use that device first!" cried Ayeka.

"Like hell it is!" Ryoko snarled, "You're just going to use it to hook up with Heero, aren't you? Don't lie to me!"

"I… I would _never_ stoop to such depths!" Ayeka replied indignantly, " _I_ have a sense of honor, which is far more than can be said of _you_!"

Washu finally snapped. " _Shut up, damn it!_ "

 _That_ certainly got their attention. Ryoko and Ayeka jumped back, their faces paling at the thought of facing Washu's wrath. For a moment Heero thought that he would have to step in again, but Washu took a deep breath to calm down before speaking again.

"First of all," she said, "this invention isn't actually finished yet. It's still in the experimental phase, so you can't use it."

"Aw, come on!" pouted Ryoko, "I want to use it _now_ , Washu!"

"I beg of you, let _me_ use it, Miss Washu!" Ayeka pleaded, "It would be a waste to allow the fruit of your genius to remain untested!"

"I just want to see it work!" Ryoko whined.

"No," said Washu firmly.

"What about me?" asked Mihoshi.

"What part of 'it's not ready' don't you get?" Washu barked.

"I just want to try it out," said Ryoko, "I'm a curious girl, after all!"

"I _must_ use it before _she_ does!" cried Ayeka.

"I said no!" Washu yelled.

Kiyone folded her arms. "But you _do_ plan on using it soon, don't you? Why else would you be showing it to us?"

Washu smiled. "Well, of course I plan on using it! That was the whole point of inventing it, after all. However, I think that you're all assuming too much regarding _how_ this thing works, or who I'll let use it other than myself, for that matter!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sasami.

"For starters," said Washu, "the device works off of more than just manual inputs. I designed it so that it can read the subconscious of whoever is using it, and that influences the world that is created. In fact, you could argue that the subconscious desires of the subject are actually more important than their conscious desires. This way, even if the subject does not _know_ what kind of world they are seeking, the Dimension Turner can still find a way to create one that the user would find ideal. In short, you don't need to have any idea whatsoever as to what would constitute a dream world for you; your subconscious will give the Dimension Turner all the data it needs to create one. All you have to do is place your hand on the touchpad here and the device will take care of the rest!"

Heero couldn't help but think back to his conversation by the tree in the middle of the lake a week ago with Ryoko. Granted, she had asked him what he wanted to _be_ rather than what kind of world he wanted to live in, but the parallels were there all the same. More importantly, he couldn't help but notice that Washu's gaze had landed upon him as she had gone into greater detail in describing the inner workings of the Dimension Turner. Was she trying to tell him something?

 _A week ago Ryoko nudges me into thinking about what I could be outside of a Preventers operative_ , he mused, _and now Washu creates a device that can construct an ideal world for someone even if they have no idea what kind of world they're actually looking for? This is either one hell of a freak coincidence, or something's up here…_

"Secondly," said Washu, her eyes narrowing, "you've all got a lot of nerve in assuming that I'm just going to let _any_ of you use this baby! I know how you people think, and I can name at least a few of you who shouldn't be allowed to create their own world!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ayeka.

"Hey!" Ryoko snapped, "You'd better not be referring to me!"

"I'm with Washu on this one," said Kiyone, "This isn't a device that just _anyone_ should be allowed to use."

Washu smirked. "Very wise, Detective. Of course, _you're_ one of those people that I don't want using it, either."

Kiyone's eyes widened in outrage. "What? Why? If anything, I think I'd be one of the _safest_ people for you to test your machine on!"

Washu shook her head. "Please. A cop like you? Don't make me laugh. Not only would you probably make some super-strict 'law and order' state, but it would be boring as hell. My machine would be wasted on the likes of you."

Kiyone folded her arms. "For your information, that's _not_ the kind of world I'd create!"

Washu smirked. "Oh, really? Now I'm a _little_ curious… still not enough to let you use it, though."

"What about me?" asked Mihoshi.

Washu shook her head. "Not a chance. I don't know what someone like you would do with this machine, but with everything I've seen from you so far I doubt it would be anything good."

"Then who _are_ you considering as candidates for using this device?" asked Heero, "You must have someone in mind besides yourself."

Washu smiled at him, and there was a light in her eyes that Heero did not like one bit. "Oh, I most certainly _do_ , Heero. You'll find out who that is in due time."

"When will it be ready?" asked Sasami.

Washu's brow furrowed in thought. "Let's see… just a few days from now, I'd say. I've just got some diagnostics to run and a little bit of fine tuning to take care of; all the hard stuff's already taken care of. I'll let you know when it's time for initial testing."

"When that time comes," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "will there be any effects on _this_ world when you use the Dimension Turner?"

Washu shook her head. "Nope. This device only works on those who use it directly and those within their immediate surroundings. By using it in a contained environment such as my lab the outside world will be at no risk of ill effect."

Heero sighed with relief. "That's good to hear."

Kiyone nodded. "I'll say. If the effects really will be confined to that extent then I guess it's nothing that I need to report to my superiors. This is actually pretty tame compared to what I was first expecting when we came in here."

Washu glared at Kiyone. "Hey, my inventions are _never_ tame!"

"I'm sorry!" Kiyone quickly replied, "I-I didn't mean it as an insult!"

Washu shook her head. "Fine, I'll let it slide this time. Don't let it happen again."

"Can you tell us anything else about this device?" asked Ayeka.

"Only that it's got a very bright future ahead of it," said Washu with a smirk, "Now, if you all don't mind, I've got work to do here. It's hard to focus with an audience."

Heero nodded. "We'll let you get back to it. We just wanted to check up on you. Try not to coop yourself up in here for so long in the future, all right?"

Washu smiled. "Aw, were you actually worried about me, handsome? If you keep acting like such a sweetheart your odds of using this baby first might just improve!"

"Aw, no fair!" pouted Mihoshi.

"How can you pick him over your own daughter?" whined Ryoko.

"Because you only admit to being my daughter when it's convenient for you, like right now," Washu shot back, "Now, beat it."

"Come on, everyone," said Heero as he started heading for the exit, "We're done here."

Ayeka nodded. "Indeed. Sasami! Let's go; you've been back here quite long enough, I think."

Sasami smiled. "Okay. See you later, Washu!"

"Later, kid," the redhead replied as she turned back to one of her monitors.

"Well," said Kiyone as the group made their way out of the lab, "I didn't see that one coming."

"No kidding," said Ryoko, "A machine that can create a perfect world for someone? We should've gone back there sooner!"

Mihoshi smiled. "I'll say! I can't wait to try it out!"

Kiyone groaned. "Mihoshi, weren't you paying attention to Washu? I don't think she's going to let you use it. Same goes for me, too… damn it."

Ayeka huffed as they came out of the lab and went to the living room. "Well, I think that's hardly _her_ call to make! Sir Heero, what are _your_ thoughts on this situation?"

Heero raised an eyebrow as he sat down on the couch. " _My_ thoughts?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes, of course. We are all staying here under your supervision, after all. If anyone's input matters here, it's most certainly yours!"

Ryoko sat down next to him and put her arm around him. "She's right, Heero! Come on, there's no need to hide it; you want to try that machine out just as badly as I do!"

Heero shook his head. "You're mistaken; I have no interest in trying out that device."

Ryoko smiled as she pressed herself up against him. "Come on, Heero; you don't have to lie to me! I saw the way you were looking at that machine. Look, just admit that you want to give it a shot. It's perfectly natural!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Heero, a little more forcefully than he'd intended.

Ryoko chuckled. "Sure you do, Heero. Don't you remember what we talked about a week ago? This is your big chance! With Washu's machine you could live your dream life!"

Heero gently pushed her off of him. "I'm _not_ interested."

"Sir Heero," said Ayeka, "Please forgive my presumption, but I do not believe that you are being entirely honest with yourself. There is no shame in admitting an interest in trying out a device such as what Miss Washu has created. Surely you must have some desire to experience a new world of your own creation."

"I know I do!" chirped Mihoshi.

Kiyone sighed. "I guess I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the same way. It would be… interesting."

"I would be so much fun!" said Sasami as she grinned at Heero, "I bet you just don't know what kind of world you'd make, right, Heero?"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her perch on Sasami's shoulder.

"That problem is one Miss Washu said her machine can work around," said Ayeka, "It could read a user's subconscious, I believe. That would certainly come in handy if one cannot make up their mind as to what sort of world they wish to build."

"What sort of world would you create, Princess Ayeka?" asked Azaka.

"Surely it would be a just and noble one!" chimed Kamidake.

Ayeka smiled. "Oh, indeed it would! I can see it now; a fair and orderly society, with myself in the social elite. With Sir Heero by my side, it would truly be a perfect world!"

Ryoko pointed at her. "Hah, I knew it! You _do_ want to use that machine to take Heero for yourself, you sneaky little skank!"

Ayeka blushed. "Oh, dear… did I really say that aloud?"

Ryoko grinned. "Yup ! Caught you red-handed, you stuck-up brat!"

Ayeka scowled. "Well… you're no better! The only reason _you_ want to use that device is so _you_ can claim Sir Heero, you foul tramp!"

"Well, why wouldn't I?" said Ryoko as she grabbed Heero's arm and pulled him towards her, "After all, I bet Heero would like the world I'd make much more than yours!"

Ayeka seized Heero's other arm. "As _if_! Sir Heero, let me assure you that the world I would create would be _much_ more suited to one such as yourself than any hellhole that _fiend_ could come up with!"

"No!" yelled Ryoko, " _Mine_ will be the one that he'll enjoy!"

"Absolutely not!" Ayeka shot back as she pulled Heero towards her, "The world that he shall find satisfaction in will be _mine_!"

"Enough!" said Heero firmly as he freed himself from the two of them, "It's a moot point, because _none_ of us will be using that machine anytime soon."

"Aw, but Heero…" pouted Ryoko.

"Sir Heero!" Ayeka protested, "My only desire…"

"It doesn't matter," said Heero, "Until Washu says that the Dimension Turner is ready for use, none of us will be so much as touching it. Is that clear?"

Ayeka sighed, but it was impossible to miss the spark of determination in her gaze. "Very well, Sir Heero."

Ryoko smirked, and Heero did not like the look in her eyes. "Whatever you say, Heero."

Clearly neither woman had really given up, and Heero imagined that the same went for the rest of the girls. They were a diverse bunch, but Heero knew that one thing they had in common was that when they set their sights on something, they were determined to seize it. The object of their desires now was Washu's Dimension Turner, and Heero could not help but fear what might come next.

 _I hope Washu's got some security measures in place for that thing_ , he thought as he stood up, _otherwise we're going to have trouble…_

"Where are you going?" asked Sasami.

"Outside," he replied as he headed for the door, "I need a little air."

"Want some company?" asked Mihoshi.

Heero shook his head. "Not this time, sorry."

He was out the front door before any of the others could volunteer to come with him. Without a real destination involved, he started wandering towards the lake. What he really wanted was some time away from his newly energized houseguests so he could gather his thoughts, and thanks to Washu's latest invention there was plenty on his mind.

What had prompted her to create a device like the Dimension Turner? He was used to her building odd inventions, but he'd never seen one quite like this. Based on what she'd told him and the others it seemed harmless enough, but knowing Washu there was always the chance that she had left something out. What she planned to do with it was up in the air, but Heero had a more immediate problem to consider; the rest of his guests.

Ryoko, Ayeka and the others were all clearly chomping at the bit for a chance to use the Dimension Turner. It was easy to understand why; the possibility to create a world that was perfect for someone was certainly tempting, and even Heero couldn't deny that the device had a certain appeal to him. He'd particularly liked how Washu had designed it so that it could be used even if the person who wanted to create a world didn't necessarily know what kind of world they wished to build. In fact, that design feature seemed just a bit too convenient, and once again he found himself wondering if Washu had built the machine with _him_ in mind.

 _Does she plan on using me as a test subject?_ , he thought, _Any other invention and I'd probably say no, but this one…_

If Washu was looking to draw him into something, she had laid out some rather enticing bait. Still, just because the temptation was there didn't mean that Heero was about to succumb to it. His mission was to keep an eye on all of his houseguests, not become Washu's lab rat. Whatever possibilities and diversions that the Dimension Turner might offer, he could not afford to get distracted by them.

"Even if it's a fake world," he muttered as he walked around the lake, "that kind of power isn't something to be used lightly. It's not worth the potential trouble… I shouldn't get involved with this."

Still, he could not deny that a part of him actually _did_ want to get involved. The forbidden fruit was before him now, and so was the accompanying question; would he take a bite at the apple?

Heero didn't have an answer.

….

"Good night, Ryoko!" chirped Mihoshi.

Ryoko nodded as she went into her room. "Good night, Mihoshi."

The rest of the household was likewise calling it a night, but Ryoko didn't have any intention of going to sleep anytime soon. She smiled mischievously as she shut her door, glancing over at the clock as she laid down on her bedroll.

 _So far, so good_ , she thought, _I just have to wait a little bit longer…_

If the others had thought earlier that she had given up on trying out the Dimension Turner, they had another thing coming. Her plan was simple, as her schemes usually were; she would wait until the others had fallen asleep, and then she would sneak into Washu's lab and try out the device.

She tapped her foot as she stared at the clock; patience had never been her strong point. Ryoko was a very impulsive woman, but when the occasion called for it she could force herself to wait for the right time to make her move. Of course, this was one of those circumstances where she was finding it rather hard to keep to her original plan.

 _This is my big chance_ , she thought, barely able to contain her excitement, _I can make a world just for me and Heero! Oh, I can see it now; it'll be us against the world! I can't wait!_

There was only one problem with her plan; Washu had said that the effects of the Dimension Turner would be confined to a limited area, especially if it remained in her lab. She wanted Heero to experience the world she planned on building with her, so she would have to find some way to convince him to come down to the lab with her. Then again, 'convince' might've been the wrong way to put it; she could always just grab him and drag him down there like she had during the incident with Washu's cave. In fact, that would probably be quicker than trying to talk him into going along with her. If nothing else, she could always ask for his forgiveness after she'd made her world.

 _Actually_ , she mused, _he might even thank me for it after he sees the world I make for the two of us. Well, even if he doesn't, I'm sure he won't hold it against me. He's gone pretty easy on me in the past, after all. I doubt he'll mind if I drag him along for another adventure. Besides, he needs to loosen up a little more, and this is just the way to do it!_

She scowled at the clock; the minutes were going by all too slowly. The temptation to throw caution to the wind was growing greater by the second, and Ryoko wasn't sure how much longer she could last.

"Damn it," she grumbled, "I should've seen if Washu had a time machine while I was down there. I could've stolen that and skipped the waiting."

A few more minutes went by before her patience gave out. Looking up at the ceiling, Ryoko grinned before she started floating up towards it.

 _Ready or not, Heero_ , she thought, _Here I come!_

A second later she had phased through the ceiling and was standing in Heero's bathroom. She opened the door and came out into his bedroom, only to find that he wasn't there.

She raised an eyebrow as she scanned the room. "Huh, that's weird. Could've sworn he'd be in bed by now. Heero? Are you hiding from me?"

Looking under the bed and in the closet, she found no sign of him. Her brow furrowed in thought; where the hell could he be?

Then her eyes widened, and a smile broke out on her face. "No way… well, well, _well!_ You're _much_ more devious than I thought you were, Heero!"

 _You're already down in the lab, aren't you?_

….

 _She left it unlocked_ , thought Heero as he opened the door to Washu's lab, _Was that an oversight… or an invitation?_

Either way, he supposed that it didn't matter. He was here, and he was going in. He had to, or who knew what would happen if one of the girls beat him here?

Heero knew what the others would assume if they found him down in Washu's lab at this hour; that he was trying to use the Dimension Turner. Nothing could be further from the truth; he had come down here to stand guard in case one of the others tried to use the device.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

It was only sensible to check up on the device and make sure it was secure. After all, his houseguests seemed more than eager to make use of the Dimension Turner even though Washu had said that it wasn't ready yet. Keeping tabs on the machine and whatever security measures Washu had set up for it was the logical thing to do, especially on the first night after its unveiling. The excitement in the household would likely die down by morning, but for now Heero was prepared to lose a night's worth of sleep if it meant keeping Ryoko and the others from messing with a machine that Washu had made clear should not be tampered with.

 _Is this really about them?_ , he thought as he walked through the lab, _Or is it about you?_

It was hard to say for sure. He genuinely was concerned about how the others might use the Dimension Turner, but how _he_ might use it weighed heavily on his mind as well. It offered a chance to sample what kind of life he might live outside of his role as a Preventers operative, a prospect that was incredibly tempting. Heero did not want to see the Dimension Turner used for something selfish or trivial, but who was he to say that his own desires didn't meet either of those categories? Certainty eluded him; his heart and mind were more conflicted now than they had been in quite some time.

"Washu?" he called as he strode towards the rear of the lab where the Dimension Turner was kept, "Are you back there?"

There was no response; she must've turned in for the night. It seemed a little bit early for her, but what did Heero know? She'd been back here for a week straight working on her new toy; perhaps she'd gone without sleep that whole time and was catching up on some much needed shuteye.

He kept his eyes peeled for any traps that Washu might've set, but as he continued through the lab he found no trace of any such security measures. Had she really left the Dimension Turner completely unguarded?

 _Did she simply forget to take precautions_ , he thought, _or did she_ want _to leave it open like this?_

It was damn near impossible to read Washu's motives at times. As much as she played the part of the playful and mischievous mad scientist, Heero was sure that there was much more to her than what she let others think. She was the one that had created Ryoko, after all, and Heero doubted she had done so simply on a whim. The same went for the Dimension Turner; there was method to the madness, but Heero didn't know where to start when it came to pinning down her motivations.

A couple minutes later he could see the Dimension Turner. There was no one with it, and as he approached he couldn't spot any trace of what might be a final line of defense. The device was unprotected, but at least it appeared that no one had tampered with it yet.

Heero sighed. "Small favors. So… now what?"

"I think that's obvious," said a familiar voice as a pair of arms grabbed him from behind and a _very_ familiar bosom pressed up against his back, "What are you waiting for, Heero? Use it!"

Heero shook his head as he freed himself from Ryoko's grip before turning around to face her. "You've got the wrong idea. That's not why I'm here."

Ryoko gave him a knowing smirk. "Oh, really? Let's see; it's the middle of the night, and here you are, all alone with the Dimension Turner. Why _else_ would you be down here, Heero?"

"For your information," said Heero firmly, "I came down here because I suspected that you or one of the others would try to use the Dimension Turner tonight. Washu said that it's not ready, so I'm here to make sure that none of you mess with it."

Ryoko smiled as she put her arm around him. "Come on, Heero; you don't need to lie to me! Just admit that you're down here for the same reason that I am. Once you do that, then we can have some fun!"

"You're imagining things," said Heero, a little more forcefully than he'd intended.

Ryoko shook her head and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the Dimension Turner. "Oh, I don't think so, handsome! Come on; let's take this thing for a ride!"

"That's enough, Ryoko," said Heero as he struggled against her surprisingly strong grip, "Stop this before it's too late!"

Ryoko chuckled. "What's the matter, Heero? Afraid that you might actually enjoy this?"

"That's _not_ it," he replied, "The power of this machine isn't something that we should just be playing around with so casually."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please_! You know damn well that Washu plans on messing around with this thing until she grows bored with it. I say she should share, and since she doesn't want to do that, we'll just have to take things into our own hands!"

"This is _not_ a good idea," said Heero as she shoved him forward.

Ryoko grinned. "Sure it is! Trust me, Heero; you'll thank me later!"

Before he knew it, the two of them were standing right in front of the Dimension Turner's control panel. Ryoko leaned forward to study it, releasing Heero in the process. It was his ideal chance to try to restrain her, but for some reason he couldn't name Heero wasn't as committed to fighting her now as he had been earlier. Instead he simply stood next to her as she examined the device and wondered what would happen next.

 _Am I seriously considering going along with her?_ , he thought, _What the hell is wrong with me?_

"Hey," said Ryoko, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Any idea how we're supposed to start this thing up?"

Heero leaned forward with her, trying to figure out how one was supposed to initiate the device. The sphere inside the tube seemed to have its sensor trained on them, and Heero wondered if it was already gathering data on them. Testing his theory, he took a step to the right. The sphere slightly adjusted itself to track his movement.

"I think it's already on," he said as he moved back to the left.

Ryoko smirked; the fact that he was no longer actively fighting her had definitely emboldened her. "Really? All right, then! So… what comes next?"

"Hold it right there, Ryoko!" yelled a certain Juraian royal.

 _I was wondering when she would show up_ , Heero mused as he and Ryoko turned around to see Ayeka rushing towards them, _Looks like my job just got a lot harder…_

"Ayeka," said Heero, "I can explain…"

Ayeka shook her head. "You don't need to explain yourself to me, Sir Heero; I know why you're down here!"

Heero couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "You do?"

Ayeka nodded. "Of course! You're here to stop this fiend Ryoko from misusing this amazing device, and I'm here to lend my support! From the looks of things, my timing is perfect. You've been caught red-handed, Ryoko!"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Cut the crap, Ayeka. You snuck down here to use the Dimension Turner, just like I did. Heero did the exact same thing; he just happened to get here first, that's all."

Ayeka shook her head. "That's absurd! Sir Heero is down here doing his duty as our guardian, and I intend to help him with that!"

Heero didn't have the heart to tell her that she wasn't entirely correct. He may have come down here with the intention of stopping Ryoko or any of the others from using the Dimension Turner, but now that he was here it was much harder to say what he was actually hoping to accomplish. Also, despite her protests to the contrary, Heero couldn't help but suspect that Ayeka wasn't being entirely truthful as to why _she_ had come down to Washu's lab in the middle of the night.

Ryoko smirked. "If that's so, then why can't you take your eyes off of Washu's toy, you royal brat?"

It was true; Ayeka had been staring at the Dimension Turner since her arrival. She quickly blushed and looked away, but there was no denying where her gaze had been, and she continued to sneak peeks at the device even as she continued to argue with Ryoko.

"Th-that's because I want to make sure that _you_ haven't tampered with it!" she shot back.

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Right. Why don't you quit lying, Ayeka? At least I'm _honest_ about why I'm down here!"

"I have _no_ idea what you're talking about!" Ayeka huffed, "And I _refuse_ to stand by and let the likes of you call me a liar! I have absolutely no intention of using this device for my own ends!"

"Why do I have a hard time believing that?" said another female voice, and Heero and the others saw that Kiyone was rapidly approaching.

It wasn't just her; Mihoshi was with her as well. The two Galaxy Police officers rushed forward, and Heero couldn't help but notice that, like Ayeka before them, they seemed more concerned with the Dimension Turner itself than the people in front of it.

"What are you two doing down here?" asked Heero.

"I could ask you the same question," said Kiyone, her eyes narrowing, "I expected Ryoko and Ayeka to be down here, but not you. I thought you were better than this, Heero."

"You've got the wrong idea," Heero replied, "I'm…"

"It's okay, Heero!" said Mihoshi with a smile, "You don't need to be embarrassed. After all, we're here to use the Dimension Turner too!"

Kiyone frantically shook her head. "No, no we're not! We're here to make sure that no one uses it! Isn't that right, Mihoshi?"

"It is?" asked Mihoshi, "I thought we were going to use it!"

"Get in line, you two!" barked Ryoko, "Heero and I were here first!"

"That does not give you the right to use this device first, Ryoko!" yelled Ayeka, " _I_ shall be the one to use it first!"

"Over my dead body!" Ryoko snarled.

"Aw, look!" cried yet another familiar voice, "Everyone's already here!"

Ayeka's face paled. "Sasami? What are _you_ doing down here? You should be in bed at this hour!"

Sasami wasn't alone; Heero could see Azaka and Kamidake floating behind her, while Ryo-Ohki was held in her arms. All four were quickly approaching, threatening to send an already out of control situation well past the point of no return.

"We saw you head downstairs, Princess Ayeka," said Azaka.

"We felt that Sasami should join you, since you were going to use the Dimension Turner," chimed in Kamidake.

Ayeka shook her head. "You had no right to inform Sasami of that! Azaka, Kamidake, how could you betray me like that?"

"With all due respect, your Highness," said Azaka, "You never told us that Sasami was to be left in the dark as to your intentions."

"We were well within our rights to inform her of what was going on," chirped Kamidake, "After all, we are as much her guardians as we are yours."

Ayeka sighed. "I suppose that is true. Still, this is not a matter that Sasami should be involved in!"

"Why not, Ayeka?" asked Sasami, "I think it would be fun to make a dream world!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki in agreement.

"I can understand that," said Ayeka, "but Sasami… this kind of power is something that should be wielded with great care. I do not know if you truly appreciate the gravity of what a device like the Dimension Turner is capable of."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "You are _so_ full of crap. You just don't want any competition for using this thing!"

"The only competition I could do without is from _you_!" Ayeka shot back, "You lack the temperament and sense of responsibility that is required for such a device!"

"Oh, like you're any better!" Ryoko countered, "You're a stuck-up rich brat who thinks she's entitled to anything she wants!"

"There's no need to fight, you two!" cried Mihoshi, "All of us can use the machine!"

Kiyone gaped at her partner. "Mihoshi, whose side are you on? No one should be using that machine! Well, not before _we_ get a chance to test it, anyway. We need to make sure it's safe, so I volunteer myself to be a guinea pig."

"No fair!" pouted Mihoshi, "You just want to use it before I do, Kiyone!"

 _I am way out of my league here_ , mused Heero as he watched the girls continue to go at it, _I doubt I could stop them even if I wanted to at this point. Maybe I should just go get Washu…_

He was about to slip off towards her quarters when Ryoko grabbed him by the arm. "Heero, what do you think? I should get to use it first, right? Come on, tell me you've got my back here!"

"Look, Ryoko…" he began.

She cut him off before he could finish. "Oh, I see how it is. You'll let me have my turn, but only after _you_ use it first, right? I guess that's fair; you did get down here before the rest of us, after all."

"That's not what I was going to say," he replied.

Ryoko grinned. "You don't need to play coy, Heero. I'll tell you what; I'll let you use it first if I get the next shot after you. What do you say?"

Heero shook his head. "That's a bad idea."

Ayeka nodded as she rushed forward and grabbed Heero's other arm. "I wholeheartedly agree, Sir Heero! That is why I believe that _I_ should use this device once you are done with it. Surely that would be just!"

"You're completely missing the point," groaned Heero.

He was clearly fighting a losing battle, but he had no idea how to turn the situation around at this point. He was surrounded, and even if he were somehow able to break out and grab Washu for help, by the time they got back who could say what kind of havoc the others would've already wrought with the Dimension Turner? The two women grabbing him were certainly determined to use the machine tonight, and he doubted that the rest of the group was lacking for enthusiasm in that department either.

"Heero," said Kiyone, "You know that it's not right for either of them to use that machine!"

Mihoshi smiled. "Yeah! Let _us_ use it, Heero!"

"Heero!" cried Sasami, "What about me? I want a chance to use it!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"That's not my call to make," Heero protested, "It's Washu's. It's her device; she understands it better than any of us do."

"That's a bunch of bull," said Ryoko, "To hell with what she wants! This thing's right here for the taking, and we're going to use it! Come on, Heero!"

Before he could stop her she pulled his arm forward until his hand was right over the panel. Heero tried to resist, but it was no good; despite her feminine figure, the lovely pirate was monstrously strong. She jerked his arm down, and his hand landed right on a touchpad built into the controls. Immediately the device lit up, and the spherical machine in the center of the tank zeroed in on him.

"All right!" yelled Ryoko as she put her hand on the pad next to his, "Now, my turn! One world for Heero and me, coming right up!"

"Hold it right there!" cried Ayeka as she thrust her hand out to join them, "I shall create a world that will be perfect for Sir Heero and I!"

The controls were lighting up like crazy, and Heero could see the spherical sensor shift its gaze rapidly between the three of them. He had a feeling the Dimension Turner wasn't designed to accommodate simultaneous users like this, and he had a bad feeling about what might happen next.

Things weren't made any easier by the others trying to get in on the action. Before Heero knew it Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Sasami had joined the fray, wrestling with the others for control over the device. The Dimension Turner's primary sensor was going absolutely wild, and so was the control panel. Whatever had been set in motion now, Heero doubted that it would be easily stopped.

"A perfect world for me!" cried Mihoshi, "I can't wait to see it!"

"A world free of Mihoshi!" said Kiyone, "I'll finally be liberated from this curse!"

"A beautiful world where everyone can be friends!" Sasami chirped.

"Hey!" yelled the machine's creator, "What the hell are you people doing? Get away from there!"

Like a red-headed cannonball, Washu shot through the crowd to get to the controls of the Dimension Turner. Her eyes widened in panic, something that Heero had never seen from her before and definitely did not bode well for whatever was happening now.

"Damn it," she muttered as she studied the controls, "I was afraid of this… not good!"

"What's going on?" asked Heero, his gaze torn between Washu and the kaleidoscope of colors that were emanating from the Dimension Turner.

"Too much input," said Washu frantically, "It read the subconscious of all of you, and it's struggling to process all the data! It's trying to compensate, but I didn't design it to analyze so many personalities at once. It was supposed to be one person at a time, damn it!"

"So, did we break it?" asked Ryoko.

"You came pretty damn close!" Washu snapped as she tried to work the controls, "Crap, I can't stop it!"

"What's it doing?" asked Sasami.

"Will it make a world?" chimed in Mihoshi.

"Far more importantly, in my humble opinion," said Ayeka, "is whether or not this contraption _is about to kill us all!_ "

"You should've thought of that before you tried to use it," said Kiyone.

Ayeka glared at her. "You used it as well, so you're in no position to judge me!"

Washu sighed. "Well, I've got good news and bad news. What order do you want it in?"

"The good news, please," said Heero as he looked nervously at the very trippy lightshow that was emanating from the Dimension Turner, "I could use some right about now."

Washu nodded as she studied the data on the machine's main monitor. "All right. The good news is that it _won't_ kill any of us."

Ryoko sighed with relief. "I'll take that."

"And the bad news?" asked Ayeka with more than a hint of trepidation.

Washu scowled at her and the rest of the group. "The bad news is that this thing's going to make more than one world, and we're going to have to cycle through _all of them_ before we make it back to the real world!"

Heero's eyes widened, a reaction mirrored by his companions. "You're kidding."

Washu put her hands on her hips. "Do I _look_ like I'm in the mood for jokes right now?"

"It's hard to tell with you," Ryoko quipped.

"Hold on a minute!" cried Kiyone, "How many different worlds are we talking about here?"

Washu folded her arms. "That depends. How many of you idiots used this thing? Be honest; I _really_ don't have time for liars right now."

Heero and the others that had messed with the device prior to Washu's arrival raised their hands, and Washu did a count. "Six, huh? Crap, this is worse than I thought!"

"How long will it take for us to get through all the worlds?" asked Mihoshi as the cascade of colors flowing from the Dimension Turner escalated and began to engulf the group.

Washu shrugged. "Can't say. You people pushed this thing way beyond what I designed it for. It could be a few hours apiece, a few days… or a few years."

 _A few years inside someone's dream world?_ , thought Heero, his mind struggling to grasp the situation he now found himself in, _I'm in for way more than I bargained for here. Well, I guess it's too late to run away now…_

Ryoko smiled. "Well, that might not be a bad thing. A few years in _my_ dream world is gonna rock!"

"Oh, spare me the thought!" blanched Ayeka, "Although... I suppose an extended period of time in _my_ dream world would be all right."

"Screw you, hypocrite!" Ryoko snapped.

"Shut up!" yelled Washu, gazing intently at the control panel again as the light flowed around them, "I'm trying to focus here!"

Heero didn't see how she _could_ focus at this point; the light emanating from the Dimension Turner was damn near blinding now, and it had almost completely engulfed the group. The sensor of the sphere inside the tank was spinning rapidly, and the light's intensity was growing with each rotation. Heero was no expert on the Dimension Turner, but he had a feeling that he and the others would see their first 'dream world' pretty damn soon if this kept up.

He didn't know whether he should feel nervous or excited.

Sasami clearly felt the latter; even as Heero shielded her eyes he could tell that the younger Juraian princess was practically beaming. "Oh, I can't wait to see my world! I hope it turns out just like I'm imagining it right now!"

"A perfect world for Sasami sounds like it would be a most charming place," said Azaka.

"A land of peace and harmony, without a doubt," chimed in Kamidake, "One as innocent and pure as the Princess herself."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"That sounds lovely, Sasami!" chirped Mihoshi, "I hope mine's like that too!"

"That sounds totally asinine," Ryoko deadpanned, "I'll pass on that kind of world. Give me some action and lawbreaking, baby!"

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "You _would_ want a world like that. I don't care if we go to that dream world of yours, I'll still arrest your ass."

Ryoko laughed. "Hah! Bring it on! You'll have to arrest me and Heero; can't be an outlaw couple without my handsome rogue of a sidekick now, can't I?"

Even through the glare from the Dimension Turner Heero could see Ayeka's face turn beet red. " _Outlaw couple?_ You foul temptress! I shall move Heaven and Earth to stop you in your dream world, mark my words!"

"Washu," said Heero, "Which world will we end up in first?"

"No idea," she replied, "but I think we're about to find out! Brace yourselves!"

At that point the light from the Dimension Turner reached its zenith, completely overwhelming Heero's sight. There was a distinct rushing sound, and he could've sworn he felt himself floating up off of the floor. His body began to spin almost as rapidly as the Dimension Turner had been early, and he passed out a few moments later.

….

 _Azaka: And so, our merry band has begun their journey to their first dream world._

 _Kamidake: Where, oh where, shall they end up first, I wonder?_

 _Azaka: With so many worlds to chose from, their destination now lies in the hands of fate._

 _Kamidake: Their time and space adventures have only just begun!_

 _Azaka: And now, without further adieu, let us join our cast in Dream World Number One!_

 _Kamidake: We hope you enjoy the show!_

….

The hot summer sun beat down on the capital. Street vendors hawked their wares, the smells of sushi, noodles, and grilled meat wafted from the various stands, and artisans and craftsmen beckoned customers to come into their myriad shops. The city watch and samurai from the Imperial Palace Guard kept a watchful eye on the streets, their katanas, staves, and naginatas an imposing sight for any would-be trouble makers. At the heart of the city, raised up on a large mound surrounded by a moat, were the pagodas of the Imperial Palace. Walled off from the rest of the urban sprawl, it was practically a world unto itself, and it was within its beautiful courtyard that Crown Princess Ayeka Masaki Jurai was spending her afternoon. A blanket had been laid out next to one of several ponds that dotted the courtyard, and she was currently sharing it with her younger sister and two of her handmaidens.

"More tea, your highness?" asked one of her handmaidens.

Ayeka smiled as she accepted the offered cup. "Yes, thank you very much!"

"It's such a lovely day," said her second handmaiden with a smile, "Truly, this is the height of summer's beauty!"

The first handmaiden nodded. "Indeed. It's a pity that Lord Yuy is unable to join us at this hour."

Ayeka sighed. "Quite so. I do wish that my father would not work him so hard. He's always performed his duties in the past with the utmost devotion and grace! Is it really too much to ask that he be allowed a little more time to spend with me, his fiancé?"

"What's father got Heero working on this time?" asked Sasami.

"That's Lord Yuy, your Highness," the first handmaiden gently corrected.

Ayeka shook her head. "It's all right. Lord Yuy's treated Sasami with great kindness and understanding; I believe she's as much a younger sister to him at this point as she is to me. A little informality on her part is harmless."

The first handmaiden bowed. "Very well, Princess Ayeka."

"I must profess to some curiosity myself," said the second handmaiden, "What could possibly be so important that your father would keep Lord Yuy as preoccupied as he has been over these past few weeks? Your wedding is merely weeks away now; surely it would be more appropriate for him to be granted a period of leave so he can spend more time with you."

Ayeka smiled wistfully. "Oh, how I wish that were the case. Alas, I'm afraid that Lord Yuy's duties as a commander in the Capital Special Guard Force leave him with precious little time for personal matters these days. Father is determined to stamp out the bandits based in the southeastern quarter, and there's also that matter of the demon that's been plaguing the local shrines recently. As Lord Yuy is amongst the most capable warriors in the Capital, my father has entrusted him with the task of addressing both of those security matters."

"Will he be all right?" asked the first handmaiden, "I've heard all sorts of nasty rumors about the southeastern bandits!"

"Not to mention the demon," the second handmaiden added, "If the gossip is true, then she's even worse than the bandits."

Ayeka could not help but shudder. She shared her servants' concerns and feared that her father was asking far too much of her groom-to-be. If anything were to happen to Heero so close to their wedding then Ayeka could not imagine how she could possibly go on with her life. No other man in the capital, no, the entire _Empire_ , could measure up to a lord of his bearing.

"It'll be okay," said her younger sister with a smile, "Heero's strong, you know that, Ayeka! He'll be just fine!"

Ayeka nodded, encouraged by Sasami's words. "Yes… you're quite right. Whether they're bandits or a demon, no adversary can hope to stand before the might of my fiancé!"

The first handmaiden smiled and bowed. "May his victory be swift and decisive."

"And may he return to you safely," said the second handmaiden, "so that the two of you may be married before the eyes of the entire Empire."

Sasami grinned. "I can't wait for the wedding! It's going to be so much fun!"

Ayeka smiled as she pictured the ceremony playing out in her mind. "Oh, yes… such a wonderful affair it will be."

Her reverie was interrupted by a rustling sound coming from some nearby bushes. A few seconds later the source of it flew out into the open and ran towards her younger sister. It was the strange yet adorable creature that had somehow snuck in and made the palace courtyard its home just a few months ago, and it hopped right into Sasami's lap.

"Ryo-Ohki!" the younger princess cried out in joy, "So that's where you were hiding! Are you hungry?"

The cute furball nodded. "Meow!"

Ayeka sighed and shook her head. "I swear, when is she _not_ hungry?"

"Don't be like that, Ayeka," said Sasami as she pulled a carrot out of her kimono and handed it to the creature, "Ryo-Ohki's a growing girl! She needs to eat healthy."

"I'm not sure that a diet consisting primarily of carrots is enough to be considered healthy," mused the first handmaiden aloud.

"She could have worse eating habits," said the second handmaiden, "Like Princess Sasami's sweet tooth, for instance."

"Hey, I don't eat _that_ many sweets!" Sasami retorted.

Ayeka couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, Sasami, but I think that mother and father would disagree with you on that count. As do I, for that matter. You really _must_ be more careful about what you eat."

"Well, Heero doesn't have a problem with it," Sasami shot back, "He always brings me sweets when he visits!"

Ayeka sighed. "Indeed. I'll have to talk about that with him later. Lord Yuy's a most compassionate gentleman, but we really must set some limits on the kinds of presents he bestows upon you. Otherwise I fear you'll continue to take advantage of his generosity."

Sasami pouted. "That's not fair, Ayeka! He brings you gifts all the time!"

"That's different, Princess Sasami," said the first handmaiden, "He is her future husband, after all!"

"There are certain expectations of him," the second handmaiden added, "and he's always been so thoughtful with your gifts, Princess Ayeka. Forgive me, but I can't help but feel a little jealous. Oh, where can _I_ find a man who would treat me like he does you?"

Ayeka smiled. "Well, I'm afraid Lord Yuy is one of a kind. Fear not, though; I'm sure we can find you a suitable young man to wed. Perhaps one will be in attendance at the ceremony. I certainly will not hold you two to your vows of service during the celebration; feel free to enjoy the festivities, and if you happen to find someone there then so much the better."

The second handmaiden bowed. "You are too kind, Princess Ayeka."

"We'll be sure to make the most of the opportunity," said the first.

Ayeka was about to reply when she caught a glimpse of no less than her groom-to-be entering the courtyard. "Lord Yuy!"

"Heero!" cried Sasami.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her handmaidens blush, and she could hardly blame them. Heero was wearing a very fine blue and white kimono, with a white dragon emblem embroidered upon it. At his hip was a _daishō_ , and Ayeka had witnessed firsthand his expertise with both blades, large and small. She was well aware of the reputation he'd gained within the Empire for his prowess in _Kenjutsu_ , and it was a very well earned reputation indeed. He was amongst the finest swordsmen in the capital, and those abilities had played a considerable role in his advancement through the ranks.

Ayeka practically tripped over herself to greet him. "I beg your pardon, Lord Yuy! Had I known you were coming here I would've been better prepared to receive you!"

Her fiancé shook his head. "Ayeka, how many times must I ask that you dispense with formalities between us?"

Ayeka blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry… Heero."

He gave her a small smile. "That's better. And you needn't worry about being prepared for my visit today. Truth be told, I didn't think I'd make it here at all today, but we caught a lucky break. The bandits that were troubling the southeastern quarter of the city will no longer be a problem."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "You mean… you've already defeated them?"

"My men and I, yes," he replied, "By good fortune one of our _shinobi_ had infiltrated their ranks and learned of the location of their main hideout. I assembled a force, and we took them by surprise. A few managed to flee to the outskirts of the city, but the majority of them are either in custody or deceased."

Ayeka smiled. "That's wonderful news! Congratulations on your victory! Have you told my father about this yet? I'm sure he'll want to hear of this as soon as possible!"

"I spoke with him earlier," said Heero, "He was pleased with the report. I can't ask for more than that."

"Heero!" cried Sasami as she rushed forward, Ayeka's handmaidens in tow, "It's so good to see you again!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from her cradle in Sasami's arms.

Heero gave Ayeka's younger sister a bow. "You as well, Sasami. It's nice to see you and Ryo-Ohki doing well. I'm sorry I haven't been able to stop by these past few days. I brought you a little something to make up for it, though."

Sasami's eyes widened as Heero pulled a small bag from the inside of his robe and passed it to her. "Oh, wow! Is that what I think it is?"

Heero chuckled. "There's only one way to find out. Go ahead and take a look inside."

Sasami did so, and she grinned when she saw its contents. "I knew it! Candy! You're the best, Heero!"

"Where did you find the time to pick up sweets for her?" Ayeka asked as Sasami started munching on her treats.

"I stopped by the market after the raid," Heero replied, giving her a knowing look, "and that wasn't the only thing I picked up. However… I'd prefer some privacy before revealing it to you."

Ayeka smiled again before turning to her handmaidens and Sasami. "Could the three of you please give us some space?"

Both of her handmaidens bowed. "Of course, Princess Ayeka."

"I'll see you later, Heero!" said Sasami as she and the others departed the garden.

When they were gone Ayeka gestured towards the blanket she and the others had been sharing prior to Heero's arrival. "Would you care to join me? I wouldn't mind giving you a chance to rest before you present your gift, and there's some fresh tea as well if you'd like a cup."

Heero nodded. "That'd be nice. Lead on, Ayeka."

She couldn't help but blush as she took him to the spot that she'd been sharing with Sasami and the others. One would think that by now she would be used to Heero simply using her first name rather than her title, but the familiarity that came with that simple gesture never failed to get her heart racing.

Settling down on the blanket, Ayeka poured tea for the two of them. "It's such a relief to see that you're not wounded. With the reputation of those bandits I feared you might not make it through this mission unscathed."

Heero shook his head. "Those bandits were at their deadliest when they had the element of surprise. When we turned it against them they were unable to mount an effective counterattack. They had a few skilled fighters amongst them, but open battle is not their forte. We were able to route them relatively quickly."

"Heavens be praised for that," said Ayeka with a smile as she took a sip of her tea, "I would be absolutely beside myself if you ever got hurt in your service to my father."

"It's a risk that comes with the job," Heero replied as he partook in his beverage along with her, "and it will continue even after we wed. You must accept that, Ayeka."

Ayeka sighed. "I realize that, but still… at least promise me that you'll be careful, all right?"

Heero nodded. "Of course. The last thing I wish to do is cause you grief."

He then reached inside his kimono. "It's not much, but please consider this a token of my devotion to you."

Ayeka gasped as he passed her a crimson sash. It had a lovely pattern of white birds embroidered on it, and the fabric was absolutely divine.

"Heero…" she said softly, "this is _beautiful_! Where in the world did you find this?"

"It's custom made, actually," Heero replied with a small smile, "I had a special order placed at a fabric shop down in the market district several days ago. Their prices are steep, but for quality work like this I was more than willing to pay up."

Ayeka couldn't help but grin as she wrapped it around her waist. "It's wonderful, Heero. I'll treasure it for the rest of my days."

"As long as it makes you happy," he said, "I can't ask for more than that."

Ayeka reached over and placed her hand on his. "How long are you able to stay with me today? With the bandits defeated so swiftly, surely your schedule has opened up some, has it not?"

Heero shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't have as much free time today as I would like. Taking care of the southeastern bandits earned me your father's praise, but he's still insistent on having this business with the demon wrapped up as quickly as possible."

"I'll talk to him," said Ayeka, "Surely there is another commander that he can entrust with handling this fiend that's been defacing the capital's shrines! You deserve time to rest after all your hard work!"

"Your father wants me to handle this one personally," Heero replied, "I doubt you'll be able to change his mind, Ayeka."

"But why must it be you that attends to this matter?" Ayeka protested, "The bandits I can understand, but this demon can surely be dealt with by another team of guards."

"The city watch has already tried to apprehend her," said Heero, "and they've been humiliated in their attempts. It's reflecting poorly on the Empire, so your father wants to be sure that this matter is resolved once and for all. That's why he's left this task to me."

Ayeka shook her head emphatically. "I cannot accept this! From what I've heard this demon is not just mischievous but _dangerous_! You've already put yourself at enough risk on the Empire's behalf. Another Guard Force commander should be assigned to this mission!"

Heero sighed. "I'm sorry, Ayeka, but your father's mind is made up. You know how he can be once he's made a decision."

Ayeka gripped her kimono in frustration. "Only too well. He's very strong willed, but I fear his stubbornness gets the better of him at times. Once his mind is set, the forces of Heaven and Earth together cannot change it. Oh, how I wish it were otherwise…"

Heero took another sip of his tea. "As do I."

"So," she said nervously, "when must you depart?"

"Within the hour, unfortunately," he said grimly.

Ayeka's eyes widened. "So soon? Why? You've only just returned to the palace!"

"Heading out while there's still daylight left will improve my chances of finding the demon," said Heero, "It'll make it easier for me to deploy my troops appropriately. The demon's attacks have been bold, but there's a pattern to them. So far she hasn't hit the same shrine twice, and the capital has significantly more holy sites than other cities. There are still several locations that she's yet to strike, so by deploying my men to observe them we should be able to catch her in the act. Of all the locations that remain untouched by her, the river shrine in the north has the highest profile, and that's the place I'll be observing personally; I think it's the most likely site for her next act of defilement."

Ayeka nodded. "In that case, I'll ask father to dispatch members of his personal guard to accompany you to that site. With those reinforcements I'm sure you'll be able to put this matter to bed before the morning sun rises!"

"I'm sorry," Heero replied, "but I'm afraid I can't accept that help. A greater number of troops than what is already at my command will be difficult to conceal. My mission relies as much upon the element of surprise as it does strength of arms. Too great a force observing the shrines will be picked up by the demon, and that will likely spook her. I need her potential targets to appear vulnerable, so to sell the deception I have to limit the amount of soldiers that take part in the mission."

"But I want to help you!" Ayeka desperately protested, "Heero, I beg of you; you must accept this backup!"

Heero shook his head. "As much as I would like to, Ayeka, I cannot. I really am sorry, but this is the way it has to be."

Ayeka sighed. "If it must, then it must. Still… promise me that you will be careful, all right?"

Heero gave her a small smile. "Of course. Trust me, Ayeka; it'll take a lot more than one demon to bring me down."

There was a calm confidence in his words that worked wonders for Ayeka's nerves. "Indeed. And when your hunt is over, I expect you to return to the palace and report your success to me straight away! If it means keeping my father waiting, so be it; he deserves as much after working you so hard."

Heero smirked. "Normally I wouldn't be one to keep the Emperor waiting, but if it's for you then I think I can make an exception. I imagine he'll let it slide this one time."

Ayeka smiled. "Oh, he most certainly will; I'll have mother see to that!"

Her fiancé chuckled. "Well, if _she'll_ be the one making the case to him, then I'm sure we have nothing to worry about."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them drank their tea. Ayeka wished Heero did not have to leave her again so soon; it was occasions like this that she lived for. Simply having the chance to spend some quality time with him felt like the height of luxury to her, especially since he had such a busy schedule. It was cruel of fate to give them such brief time together, but once they were wed Ayeka vowed that things would be different. After the ceremony Heero would no longer be just a formidable commander in the Capital Special Guard Force; he would be royalty alongside her, and that would grant him much greater leeway with her father than before.

 _And the first thing I'll have him do with his new position_ , she thought, _is aid me in convincing father to grant the two of us a long honeymoon. I hardly think he'll be in a position to refuse us given all of Heero's service to him over the years, and I can always ask mother to lean on him a bit as well in this matter. Yes, an extended vacation, just the two of us… perhaps we can go to one of the royal seaside villas. Oh, that would be absolutely perfect!_

It was a dream that she was determined to make a reality, which was why she was so desperate to find a way to help Heero in his task. Unfortunately he had politely turned down her most direct method of providing assistance, but despite her earlier words the princess was not completely deterred. Her fiancé would have her help whether he wanted it or not, but she did not dare say as much to him.

Finishing his tea, Heero stood up, and Ayeka followed suit. "I don't have much time left. There're only a few more hours of daylight remaining, so I need to get going. I have to assemble my men and give them their assignments before heading to the river shrine."

Ayeka nodded. "I understand. Remember; I expect to be the first to hear of your success. Do not keep me waiting a second longer than necessary."

Heero bowed. "Of course. The sooner this mission is over, the better. I won't make you worry a moment more than I have to."

Ayeka smiled. "I will hold you to that, Heero. Good hunting."

He gave her one more bow before taking his leave. As soon as he was out of sight Ayeka sought out her handmaidens. It didn't take long to find both of them, along with Sasami and Ryo-Ohki; they were hiding in a room overlooking the garden, and they'd clearly been eavesdropping.

"Princess Ayeka!" cried the first handmaiden as she threw the door open.

"We can explain…" the second one began.

Ayeka shook her head. "There is no time for that. I have a task that the two of you must perform at once!"

The two women bowed. "Name it, and it shall be done, your Highness!"

"Summon my retainers," she ordered, "Kuramitsu and Makibi are to meet me in my chambers immediately."

"Understood," her handmaidens replied before rushing off to perform their assigned tasks.

"You're getting Mihoshi and Kiyone?" said Sasami, raising an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because I fear Lord Yuy is walking into grave danger," she replied, "and although he does not wish to be reinforced, he shall have backup just the same!"

….

"Come on, Mihoshi!" called Kiyone, "Hurry up!"

"I'm coming, Kiyone," replied her partner as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her robe.

 _I can't believe her_ , she thought as she hustled through the palace halls, _I swear, she picks the worst times to take naps. How can she possibly be so lazy and still be a member of the Palace Guard, let alone a royal retainer?_

She already knew the answer to that question, of course. Mihoshi's father and mother were both quite powerful, and their daughter had been brought into the Palace Guard by the Emperor as a means of gaining influence with them. The arrangement made sense, but it still ruffled Kiyone's feathers a bit since she had gotten into the Guard on skill rather than patronage. Nevertheless, she'd eventually accepted Mihoshi as both a comrade and a friend, although her antics did put a strain on the relationship even at the best of times.

Kiyone groaned as her partner struggled to keep up. "Mihoshi, I swear, if we're late because of you then I'll have you run ten laps around the palace tomorrow morning!"

"Aw, not laps again!" pouted Mihoshi, "I hate those!"

"Then move faster so you won't have to run them!" said Kiyone, "We're retainers, Mihoshi; we're supposed to be ready the moment the Princess summons us!"

"But why does she have to summon us during nap time?" asked Mihoshi.

Kiyone wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. "The only one that was napping was you, and you were supposed to be training with me!"

Mihoshi looked confused. "I was? I don't remember you telling me that."

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "I shouldn't have to tell you by now. We train together at the same hour every day!"

"But I forgot what hour it was!" Mihoshi protested.

Kiyone sighed; that didn't surprise her in the least. "Look, forget about that for now! We're almost there!"

The two of them arrived at the door to Ayeka's chambers a few seconds later. Kiyone knocked on the frame.

"Princess Ayeka!" she said, "It's Kiyone! I've brought Mihoshi with me. May we enter?"

"Yes, please," their master responded.

Kiyone and Mihoshi entered the room and immediately bowed. "How might we serve you, Princess Ayeka?"

"Please, raise your heads," Ayeka replied, "and pay careful attention. The task I have for you may well prove to be more dangerous than your typical duties."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. She wasn't opposed to a dangerous assignment, but it was pretty rare that those came around. Ayeka was clearly troubled, and Kiyone found herself wondering if they were about to get entangled in some serious palace intrigue. In the past Ayeka had tried to keep her retainers out of that sort of mess, but there was always the chance that a day would come when Kiyone and Mihoshi's involvement in such affairs would be necessary.

"What is it, your Highness?" she asked.

"As I'm sure the two of you are already aware of," said Ayeka, "my father has given Lord Yuy two tasks to attend to in recent days. The first he accomplished this morning; dispatching the bandits that plagued the southeastern quarter. However, the second task has yet to be completed. He set out to do just that a little while ago, and I fear that eliminating the demon that's been attacking the capital's shrines these past few weeks will be a much more daunting mission for him to undertake."

"Princess Ayeka," said Kiyone cautiously, "Pardon me if I overstep my bounds, but Lord Yuy's one of the top commanders of the Capital Special Guard Force. Between his skills and the soldiers under his command, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Mihoshi nodded and smiled. "Kiyone's right, Ayeka! Heero can handle it!"

Kiyone elbowed her partner. "Mihoshi! You can't be so informal with her! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Ayeka waved her hand dismissively. "It's quite all right, Makibi; I've grown accustomed to Kuramitsu's mannerisms, and I know she means no offense by them. Where my concern lies at the moment is with Lord Yuy. I'm afraid I do not share you and your partner's confidence in his ability to contend with this mission on his own. I tried to convince him to accept reinforcements, but he said they would only compromise his task. I do understand that a larger force might hinder his mission, but I still wish to provide aid in some manner."

Kiyone nodded in comprehension. "And that's why you've summoned us, correct?"

"Quite so," Ayeka replied, "Lord Yuy makes for the northern river shrine as we speak; he believes that to be the demon's next target. I wish for the two of you to head there discreetly and observe from the shadows. The moment Lord Yuy encounters the enemy you are to make yourselves known and provide assistance. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your Highness," the two of the replied together.

Ayeka nodded. "Good. You'd best set off at once; Lord Yuy has a decent head start on you, and there's no telling when he'll engage the demon. I expect you to report back to me the moment your task has been accomplished."

"Understood, your Highness," said Kiyone.

"We won't let you down!" chirped Mihoshi.

The two of them left the room, and Kiyone led the way out of the palace. She had to; Mihoshi had a habit of getting lost, which was rather remarkable when one considered that she worked in the damn place and really ought to have the layout memorized by now.

"This will be fun!" cried Mihoshi as they rushed towards the main entrance.

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "Mihoshi, we're not doing this for fun. This is a serious mission, and you need to treat it that way!"

"Fine," Mihoshi pouted, "I hope Heero doesn't beat the demon before we get there. I want to see it in person."

"If he's unable to defeat it before we arrive, that's not a good thing," Kiyone admonished her, "It means the demon's powerful, and we shouldn't take it lightly. Don't be careless, all right?"

"Okay, Kiyone!" said Mihoshi cheerfully.

Kiyone sighed. Sometimes she wished she could be as easy going as her partner, but this wasn't one of those occasions. This was an assignment from their master, and a very important one at that. Success would mean an improvement in their reputation as retainers, but failure would mean disgrace at the very least. Kiyone had worked very hard to earn her position, and she did not want to lose it because of one assignment going bad due to her partner's carelessness.

 _I'm not about to fail this mission_ , she thought with determination as they crossed the bridge leading into the main city, _I_ will _make this one a success! Failure's not an option for me now!_

….

"All right," said Heero as he rolled up the map and slipped it into his kimono, "You all have your assignments. I expect all of you to return here at dawn to report on your progress. Send a messenger if you spot any signs of our prey. Good hunting."

His lieutenants nodded before running off to their squads. The gathered force quickly dispersed, leaving Heero alone in the middle of the city square. Late afternoon was turning into early evening, and there was already more than a bit of crimson in the sky as the sun descended on the horizon. Heero would have to move swiftly if he was to reach his intended destination before nightfall.

Fortunately it was not too difficult for him to get to his objective. The crowds in the streets had already thinned out considerably, and those who remained were quick to get out of his way; anyone who wasn't blind recognized the uniform of the Capital Special Guard Force.

 _Has she already made her move?_ , he thought as he headed towards the shrine, _No, it's too early; she's waited until sundown in the previous incidents. Still, she could always change her timing. She is impulsive that way…_

He shook his head. What was he supposed to do? His mission was clear enough, but he was rather reluctant to engage in violence against this particular target. After all, he knew this 'demon' rather well, and he had a good idea as to why she was causing such a commotion with the local shrines in recent days.

The river shrine was easy enough to spot. Situated on an island in the middle of the river that ran through the heart of the capital, its twin pagoda towers were quite prominent. A bridge on each side of the island connected it to the riverbanks, and it was very popular with both the locals and visitors from outside the city. The last of the day's worshipers were departing as Heero approached the shrine, and he saw one of the local monks waving at him.

"Lord Yuy," he said, "Your messenger was just here. It's an honor to play host to the Capital Special Guard Force's most renowned commander."

"You may dispense with the pleasantries," said Heero, "I don't have time for them. Has the demon appeared yet?"

The monk shook his head. "We haven't sighted anything unusual as of yet."

Heero nodded. "Good. Clear out whoever remains, including your fellow priests. Temporary lodgings have been made available at the inn across the road; the Empire is footing the bill. You may return in the morning."

The monk raised an eyebrow. "Surely you don't mean to occupy this facility by yourself? Would it not be better to have multiple people on watch for the demon? Our priests are not defenseless, after all; several are former samurai, in fact. Their skills in the martial arts would surely be an asset to you."

"Anyone else will get in my way," said Heero firmly, "Now please, vacate the premises. Return at sunrise, but not a moment sooner. Is that understood?"

The monk bowed reluctantly. "Yes, Lord Yuy. I'll go inform the others."

"Be quick," said Heero, "I don't want my prey to be spooked by so many people milling around here."

It didn't take long for the monk to gather the rest of the shrine's occupants. As soon as they were across the bridge Heero entered the temple grounds and began a thorough inspection of the area. Not spotting any sign of his target outside, he went inside the temple itself and moved from room to room. There were no traces of his prey, which was definitely a good sign; it meant he had a chance to resolve this matter in a way that would satisfy _all_ parties involved… including his target.

Climbing the stairs of the left pagoda, he soon reached the top floor. Opening one of the windows, he then proceeded to climb out it and up onto the roof. The sun might have been setting, but there was still enough light for him to survey the surrounding city. Of course, that light would inevitably fade as well, but Heero wasn't worried; he'd trained himself to operate at any time of day, and his night vision was quite keen as a result.

It was a rather beautiful evening, all things considered. The bustle and noise that characterized the capital during the day had died down, allowing more of nature's song to be heard. Birds cawed, frogs down in the river croaked, and Heero was even able to pick up chirps of crickets if he focused solely on his hearing. The river temple was in a prime position for one to pick up on the sights and sounds of the capital's animal denizens, especially since it was quite a ways away from the 'entertainment' district that inevitably thrived with new life once the sun went down.

 _As cities go_ , he mused, _this one's not too bad. If I weren't so deeply involved in its security I might be able to take more time to enjoy it. Oh, well. Such is the life I live…_

Evening gradually turned to night, but there was still no sign of his target. The sun eventually disappeared completely from sight, but the half-moon hanging in the sky meant he was not completely deprived of light. It was most fortunate for Heero that there were no clouds tonight, and while the breeze was cool it was not uncomfortable. He'd certainly encountered worse conditions for stakeouts in the past, so he wasn't about to complain about tonight's weather.

About an hour had passed before his eyes caught a glimpse of a shadow on the move just across one of the bridge's leading to the shrine. His eyes narrowed, and in the blink of an eye the shadow had crossed the bridge and was on the temple grounds. Heero went into a crouch; his prey was here, and it was heading his way fast.

Before he could react the shadow had already scaled the walls of the pagoda he was perched on. There was a rippling noise as the figure phased through one of the walls, only to be followed by another a second later as it then came up through the roof behind him. Heero whirled around…

…only to find himself being pulled headfirst into the 'demon's' rather prominent chest.

"Heero!" cried Ryoko as she embraced him, "So you finally came out to play with me, eh? It took you long enough!"

Heero shook his head as he extricated himself from her grip. "I didn't come out here to play, Ryoko."

She grinned as she put her arm around him. "Aw, come on, Heero, you don't have to lie to me! I knew you'd break free of that leash Ayeka has you on eventually!"

Heero sighed. "If you wanted to get my attention, there must've been less conspicuous ways of doing so. Really, Ryoko; was vandalizing half the shrines in the capital necessary to draw me out? You could've just snuck into the palace or approached me while I was on patrol in the city."

Ryoko chuckled. "Hey, where's the fun in that? Besides, you know how the people who run these shrines have a bug up their ass about girls like me; I figured I owed them a little payback. Seeing a monk piss himself in the middle of the night when I break a statue in half is _priceless_!"

"I'm sure it is," Heero deadpanned, "I don't suppose there's a way for you to get your kicks _without_ damaging public property, is there?"

Ryoko shrugged. "Maybe. Like I told you, though, this wasn't just for fun; I wanted to see you again! This got you out here, so clearly it worked!"

Heero nodded. "It did, and the Empire wants me to deal with you now. You've landed yourself in a bit of a mess, Ryoko."

Ryoko laughed. "Please; my whole life's been me jumping from one mess to another, you know that! It's not like this is the first time I've pulled you into one of them, either."

"Don't remind me," said Heero, "still, this is different, Ryoko. You've got the capital running scared now, and the Emperor himself ordered me to stop you. I'd rather do that without violence, so I'm hoping that you'll cooperate with me."

Ryoko smiled. "Sure, as long as if by 'cooperate' you mean you'll run away with me! I guarantee you'll have a lot more fun with me than you would being cooped up back at the palace with that royal brat Ayeka."

"I have responsibilities in this city, Ryoko," Heero replied, "not to mention my engagement to Ayeka. I'm sorry, but running away really isn't an option for me."

Ryoko pouted. "Oh, so that sheltered princess is really more important to you than little old me! I thought we had something, Heero! Remember when we first met? You caught me stealing offerings from that shrine in that village in the middle of nowhere, but instead of arresting me you gave me food!"

"Because the offering you were stealing was food for the local shrine spirits," said Heero, "and you were clearly half starved as it was. I wanted to help you, Ryoko, not enable you. If you were still stealing food from shrines that would be one thing, but defacing statues and scaring monks half to death is another matter altogether."

Ryoko folded her arms. "Well, I couldn't figure out how else I'd get to see you again. You don't make it easy to keep in touch, you know? Seriously, do you _have_ to work at the palace? I hate that place; it's full of stuffy, arrogant rich people and lots of guards!"

"That's where I'm currently assigned," Heero countered, "It's my area of responsibility, so that's where I reside. I don't get to come and go as I please like you do, Ryoko; I have important duties to attend to. I help keep the peace and make sure that people are safe."

Ryoko sighed. "Man, do you hear yourself? You sound more like them now than you do yourself. What happened to that samurai I met back at that shrine? What happened to the guy who cared more about doing the right thing than just following orders?"

"I'm trying to do both, Ryoko," said Heero, "Now, are you going to work with me here, or not?"

Ryoko grinned as she grabbed him by the arm. "Nope! Sorry, Heero, but I'm not going to let those high class twits turn you into one of them. You're coming with me whether you like it or not!"

"Ryoko!" Heero protested.

"Stop right there, demon!" cried a familiar female voice.

Heero and Ryoko turned towards the edge of the roof, where they saw not only Kiyone but also Mihoshi desperately gripping the edge. He was amazed they'd made it up here, especially given Mihoshi's legendary reputation for clumsiness.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"We're here to back you up," said Kiyone as she clambered onto the roof with her partner in tow, "Orders from Princess Ayeka, Lord Yuy."

"How's it going, Heero?" asked Mihoshi with a grin.

Kiyone elbowed her. "This isn't a social call, Mihoshi! We're on the clock, so act like it!"

"Oh, right!" said Mihoshi, bowing her head, "Sorry about that, Lord Yuy!"

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Mihoshi. How are you? It's been some time since I've seen either of you."

"We're doing great!" chirped Mihoshi.

"Speak for yourself," muttered Kiyone.

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Great, more stiffs from the palace. Heero, did you have to bring them along?"

"I didn't," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "In fact, I made it quite clear to Ayeka that I didn't want backup."

Kiyone nodded. "She was well aware of that, but she still insisted on providing you with support. As her retainers, we were duty bound to act on her behalf."

"So you're the demon, huh?" said Mihoshi, peering closely at Ryoko, "You don't look as scary as I thought you'd be."

"Piss me off and that'll change really quick," grumbled Ryoko.

"Let's try to avoid that," said Heero, stepping between them, "Kiyone, Mihoshi, I appreciate the gesture, but I have the situation under control here. You can report back to Ayeka now."

Kiyone shook her head. "I'm afraid we can't report back to her until this demon is officially in custody… or slain."

Mihoshi's eyes widened. "Kiyone! We're not going to hurt her! She hasn't done anything to us!"

Ryoko smirked. "Slay me? Take your best shot, lapdog. I'm not like those dummies you're used to hitting in practice. _I_ hit back, and I pack a mean punch!"

Kiyone glared at her. "Are you threatening a royal retainer? That's not going to end well for you."

"There's no need to fight, you two!" said Mihoshi nervously, "Can't we all just get along?"

"No, we can't!" snapped Kiyone, "We're here to fight her by order of Princes Ayeka, and we _will_ carry out our mission!"

Ryoko laughed. "I'd like to see you try! You two couldn't take me on in my worst hangover, and right now I'm completely sober. You're _so_ screwed!"

Kiyone's hand drifted to the hilt of her sword. "We'll see about that."

"That's enough," said Heero firmly, glaring at both parties, "There's no need for a fight here."

Mihoshi smiled. "See, Kiyone? Heero's got the right idea! Why don't we just let him handle this?"

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "What exactly _do_ you have in mind, Heero?"

Heero shrugged. "Well, my original plan was to cut some of Ryoko's hair and her palm so some of her blood would be on my blade. After that I was going to report that I'd defeated her but she fell into the river after I struck the final blow, preventing me from retrieving the body."

Ryoko grinned. "Aw, you're totally planning on letting me escape! You really _do_ care, Heero!"

Heero sighed as he looked at Kiyone and Mihoshi. "Something tells me that the two of you would frown upon that plan, though."

Mihoshi looked puzzled. "Why? I think it's a good plan."

Kiyone punched her partner on the shoulder. "Because it means the demon will live, you idiot! His mission's to defeat her, not help her slip away!"

"But they're clearly friends if he's trying to help her!" Mihoshi protested, "It's not right to make Heero fight a friend!"

"It's his _duty_ to fight her!" snapped Kiyone, "I can't believe this…"

Ryoko smirked. "Well, I _am_ a demon; for all you know I've bewitched Heero and he's under my spell! I _definitely_ wouldn't mind putting a spell or two on him, now that I think about it…"

Kiyone glared at her. "That's it! He _is_ under a spell, isn't he? Why else would someone as honorable and dutiful as Lord Yuy shirk his responsibilities like this?"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "You're _really_ going to take me literally on that one? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of the two of you."

"Do not play coy, you tramp!" cried a new voice, "I know that is precisely what you have done to Lord Yuy!"

 _You've got to be kidding me_ , thought Heero as he and the others looked towards the edge of the roof, _It can't be her…_

There was no mistaking the newcomer's identity, though. Clinging to the edge of the roof was none other than Ayeka. She wasn't alone, either; Sasami was right there with her, looking rather excited at the situation she'd found herself in. To top things off, he could even see Ryo-Ohki perched on Sasami's head.

"Princess Ayeka!" cried Kiyone as she rushed to help her finish climbing on the roof, "What are you doing here?"

"Sasami!" chirped Mihoshi as she aided the younger princess's ascent, "I didn't expect to see you here! How are you?"

"I'm good," Sasami replied with a smile before turning towards the others, "Is this the demon, Heero? She's pretty!"

Ryoko smiled. "Thanks, kid."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki in what Heero assumed was a greeting.

"Sasami, do not speak to her!" shouted Ayeka as she got between her and Ryoko, "She will only put a spell on you! She's already bewitched Lord Yuy!"

Heero shook his head, growing increasingly exasperated by the whole situation. "Ayeka, that's not what's going on here."

Ayeka would have none of it. "Fear not, Lord Yuy, for I shall personally free you from this demon's curse! I shall let nothing come between us and our future together!"

Ryoko laughed. "Future together? What a load of crap! Sorry, princess, but you're just not woman enough for a guy like Heero. He's coming with me!"

Ayeka glared at her. "He shall do no such thing! He's engaged to me, and I shall move Heaven and Earth if that's what it takes to save him! You shall not have him, you fiend!"

"Or what?" said Ryoko, "You'll sic your retainers on me? If you really want him so badly, fight me yourself!"

"There's no need for _any_ fighting," said Heero, stepping between them.

His intent was to calm the situation, but it backfired rather badly, starting with Ryoko grabbing onto his arm. "Oh, you're so brave, Heero! I just knew that you would stand up and protect me from these people!"

Ayeka instantly surged forward and grabbed his other arm. "He is doing no such thing! Lord Yuy, you must break this demon's spell! Remember who you are!"

"He knows exactly who he is!" Ryoko countered as she pulled him towards her, "He's coming with me whether you like it or not, you royal brat!"

"Absurd!" Ayeka shouted, "I will not hear of it! He is to be my husband, and I will die before I let you come between us, you foul beast!"

"Cut it out, you two," said Heero as he tried to free himself from their grip, "This is getting ridiculous."

Ryoko was having none of it. "Not a chance, Heero! I'm getting you out of this town! We're going to a place that we can actually have some fun at!"

"He is staying right here!" yelled Ayeka, "This is where he belongs!"

Try as he might to shake them off, Heero was having no luck. It was amazing how strong they were, and he doubted any other women could measure up to their raw power and tenacity.

"Knock it off, both of you!" shouted Kiyone, "Princess Ayeka, what would your father say if he could see you right now?"

"You're gonna hurt Heero!" cried Mihoshi.

"She's right, Ayeka," said Sasami, "You have to stop!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"He will endure this for my sake!" screamed Ayeka.

"No, he'll endure it for _me_!" shouted Ryoko.

"And… there!" said a new voice.

There was a flash of light, and everyone suddenly froze in place. However, Heero was still aware of his surroundings, and he saw none other than Washu standing off to the side. The green sphere that was the heart of the Dimension Turner was floating in front of her, along with what appeared to be a transparent keyboard that her fingers were rapidly typing on.

"Finally," she said, "I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get us out of this world, and this was only the first one! Oh, it was Ayeka's, in case you hadn't guessed that already."

 _Pretty sure I had that one figured out from the get-go_ , Heero mused, _Her being a princess here too along with me being her fiancé gave it away pretty quickly…_

"Washu!" cried Ayeka, "How dare you end this time in my world so soon?"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break. Your world sucks, Ayeka!"

"It was too stiff and formal," said Mihoshi, "There was too much bowing. My neck was starting to hurt!"

"You could use a bit of that 'stiff and formal' stuff yourself, you know?" Kiyone muttered.

"I've already lived in a palace before," said Sasami, "so it was kind of boring living in another one. Ayeka, that's really your dream world? It wasn't all that different from Jurai. Well, except for Heero being there, anyway. That was the best part!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"So," Heero said as the world around him started to spin, "which one's up next?"

"Will it be more fun than this one was?" asked Ryoko.

Washu shrugged. "Who knows? We're about to find out, so brace yourself!"

The spinning rapidly picked up speed, and a moment later the world went black.

….

 _Azaka: And so, our merry troupe has passed through their first dream world._

 _Kamidake: They've survived Number One, but five more lie ahead!_

 _Azaka: Whose world shall they encounter next?_

 _Kamidake: What hurdles and challenges lie in wait for them?_

 _Azaka: What shall we learn about the desires of the one who created the next world?_

 _Kamidake: Let us find out together…_

 _Azaka: In world Number Two._

 _Kamidake: We hope you've enjoyed this illuminating first step of our adventure through time and space!_

 _Azaka: And now, without further adieu, let us rejoin our happy band of dimensional travelers!_

 _Azaka and Kamidake: Here we go!_

….

The ferry's horn thundered as the vessel made its way through the fog. Standing on the upper deck of the ship, her dark blue jacket doing very little to shield her from the cold wind, was one of the ferry's very few passengers on today's trip. Her long, dark blue-green hair flowing in the breeze, Kiyone Makibi shivered as she tried to peer through the mist. The fog was so thick today, and she had no idea how close the ferry was to its destination.

 _How long has it been now?_ , she thought as she stared out across the water, _How many years have passed since I started this trip? Since I gave up being a police officer and took off on this endless journey?_

Time had become a haze ever since she'd left her job behind. She'd wandered from town to town, not entirely sure what she was looking for but certain that she hadn't found it yet. Whatever she was seeking would have to be found soon; her savings had been substantial before she'd set off on her journey, but her travels had since taken their toll on her bank account.

 _I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having second thoughts about all of this_ , she mused, _but, still… I couldn't go on like that. I had no choice but to get away from that nightmare and find a fresh start._

It wasn't like she was leaving much of importance behind. Her career had basically imploded. Her circle of friends had deserted her as she became mired in one mess after another. Even her relationship with her family had become tense as she'd become stuck in her rut without any way to advance up the police hierarchy. When faced with all of that, running as far away from it all as she could felt like the only viable option.

"Run away to the ends of the Earth," she muttered, "At least, that's where it feels like I'm heading."

A faint light appeared through the fog, and as the ferry continued forward Kiyone could make out the vague outline of a lighthouse. The rest of the shore gradually came into view, and beyond that the quiet fishing town that was her destination. It was a far cry from the urban environments that she was so used to, but to Kiyone that was the whole point; she wanted to completely separate herself from her old life, and if there was any place that she could try to start over again, it was somewhere like this.

At least, that's what she hoped.

Heading back inside, she went to the locker where she'd stored her belongings and prepared for debarkation. She hadn't packed much when she'd run off; everything essential to her trip had fit into one duffel bag. She'd picked up a few mementos over the course of her trip, but for the most part her possessions consisted of the bare necessities and little else.

More and more of the sleepy fishing town came into view. She could make out the main dock that the ferry was heading for, along with several smaller such facilities, some occupied by vessels returning with the day's catch. Beyond that were several small homes and storefronts, with no building taller than two stories at maximum. She didn't know why, but Kiyone could feel herself relaxing just at the mere sight of the village. It completely lacked the hustle and bustle that she was so used to from life in the big city. There was _peace_ here, and she would need that more than anything else if she hoped to heal the wounds on her psyche and start anew.

The ferry came into dock a few minutes later, and Kiyone disembarked along with the handful of other passengers that had accompanied her. The others quickly went their separate ways, leaving her alone on the pier without a clue as to where she should go next. A soft grumbling in her belly helped her make up her mind, and she set off in search of a place to grab a bite to eat. A little ways up from the dock she spotted a noodle house, and that seemed like as good a place as any to satisfy her appetite.

She slid open the door and looked around. The place wasn't exactly high-end, but it had a nice and cozy feel to it. This was a place that people could kick back and unwind in after a long day of work, enjoying good food and forgetting about their troubles for a little while.

There weren't many people in at the moment; Kiyone supposed she'd caught the place at just before the dinner rush. She headed towards the bar, hopped onto a stool, dropped her bag on the floor and tapped the small silver bell placed off to the side.

"Be there in a second," she heard a male voice say.

True to his word, he didn't keep her waiting long. The speaker appeared just a few moments later, and Kiyone was rather taken aback by his appearance. His voice had been strong and firm, but he looked like he was only in his late teens at most. He had thick brown hair and dark blue eyes, and Kiyone was struck by the piercing look they had to them.

"Well, now," he said, "It's been quite a while since I've had a new face in here. Welcome, miss…"

"Kiyone," she replied, "Kiyone Makibi."

The young man held out his hand. "Heero Yuy. Nice to meet you, and welcome to our town."

She nodded and smiled as she shook it. "Likewise. Is it really that easy to spot newcomers to this place?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure you noticed on the way in, but this is a pretty small town. Well, unless you just came in on the ferry; with the fog as bad as it is today you probably didn't see too much of the town."

"I actually did use the ferry," she replied, "and yeah, the fog was pretty thick. Is it usually like this around here?"

Heero shrugged. "It comes and goes. Most of the time it's not that bad, though. Anyway, this town really doesn't go too much beyond the coast, so it's not like you missed much."

"I see," said Kiyone.

"So," said Heero, "what can I get you?"

"What do you recommend?" asked Kiyone, "I'm on a bit of a budget, but if you've got something really good that's in my price range I'll definitely try it."

"The tempura noodles are a popular pick," said Heero, "and I've had them myself more than a few times. If you're looking for quality food on a minimal budget, that's my suggestion for you."

Kiyone smiled. "Sounds good to me."

Heero nodded and turned towards the kitchen. "Sasami, new order! One bowl of tempura noodles."

Looking past Heero, Kiyone saw a girl with teal colored hair tied into two very long pigtails peek out of the kitchen and smile. "You got it, Heero!"

"Want anything to drink with that?" he asked.

"Some tea would be nice," she replied.

"I'll take care of that," said another girl coming out of the kitchen, this one older and with purple hair that fell behind her in two long tails, "What kind, miss?"

"Green, please," said Kiyone.

The woman nodded before turning to Heero. "How much longer do you think we have until the usual crowd comes in?"

Heero checked a clock on the wall. "I'd say another ten minutes, tops. Tell Sasami to brace for the dinner rush, Ayeka."

Ayeka smiled. "Of course, Heero. We'll both be ready."

"Is it just the three of you running this place?" asked Kiyone as Ayeka slipped back into the kitchen.

"Four of us, actually," Heero replied.

Kiyone looked around. "Really? Where's the fourth one at?"

"Meow!" cried a high-pitched voice from below.

Kiyone's eyes widened as she saw a strange cat-rabbit hybrid creature on the floor next to her stool. She was torn between confusion and adoration; she'd never seen anything quite like this little furball, but it was pretty cute.

"That's number four," said Heero, "Kiyone, meet Ryo-Ohki. She's our mascot, and she helps keep mice and other vermin away."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "You count her as part of your staff?"

"Why not?" Heero replied, "She pulls her weight. The customers like her, especially the ones that bring their kids here. We pay her in food, and she seems rather happy with the arrangement."

Kiyone couldn't help but laugh as Ryo-Ohki hopped up on her laugh. "Well, she certainly seems friendly enough to be a mascot, at least."

The adorable creature smiled at her. "Meow!"

Heero nodded. "Never underestimate the power of a store pet to draw in customers. She's quite popular, and we've definitely seen an increase in revenue ever since she wandered in here."

"Sasami typically takes care of her," said Ayeka as she came out with Kiyone's tea, "She's become quite attached to the little thing."

"I can see why," said Kiyone as she patted Ryo-Ohki on the head before accepting her tea.

"If she becomes a handful," said Ayeka, "please don't hesitate to let us know. We'll have Sasami take her off your hands."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," said Kiyone with a smile as she looked down at the furball, "I think her and I will get along just fine, won't we?"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Oh, before I forget," said Ayeka, "Your order's just about ready. It'll be another minute or so at the most."

Kiyone nodded. "Thanks."

The front door opened, and Kiyone saw a handful of customers enter and take their seats. Heero gave her a nod before heading over to them to take their orders, giving Kiyone some private time with Ryo-Ohki. She absently played with the adorable creature's ears, finding herself to be surprisingly content with the situation she found herself in.

 _It's so simple here_ , she thought as she looked around, _I've only been here for a few minutes, but I already feel right at home. Maybe this is the place I've been looking for…_

"Here you are, miss," said Ayeka as she set a steaming bowl of noodles with tempura on top down in front of her, "Best give it a couple minutes to cool off a bit."

"I'll do that," said Kiyone as she took a sip of her tea, "Thank you."

"If you need anything else," Ayeka added, "you have only to ask."

She then trotted off to help Heero with the new arrivals. Kiyone closed her eyes and took a deep sniff of her dish. The smell was absolutely heavenly, and it was all too tempting to just dig in right then and there. All the steam wafting up from the bowl indicated that Ayeka's words of warning were not to be taken lightly, though, so she settled for blowing on the dish and petting her furry companion while waiting for it to cool down.

 _I can't remember the last time a dish smelled this good to me_ , she mused, _I might just have to become a regular here…_

Deciding enough time had passed, she grabbed her chopsticks and took a sample of her dish. Her eyes widened as the flavor hit her tongue; it was even better than she'd hoped for. She then wasted no time in diving in, but she was a little too hasty; she hit a particularly hot spot that caused her to drop her chopsticks and rush for the tea, only to find Heero putting a glass of water down next to her bowl.

"This'll help more than the tea," he said.

Kiyone nodded before taking a sip. "Thanks."

She smiled after her mouth cooled off. "This is really good. I can see why it's so popular."

"It is indeed a crowd favorite," said Heero, "Try to go a little slower with it, though, unless you want to burn your tongue again."

"Will do," Kiyone replied before digging in again.

"Man, that smells good!" said a new voice, "Hey, Heero, can I get some of that?"

Looking to her right, Kiyone saw an amber eyed woman with wild turquoise hair join her at the bar. She seemed rather familiar with the young man who Kiyone had been talking to, and that was quickly confirmed by Heero himself.

"You're here early, Ryoko," he said, "Don't tell me you got fired again."

"Nah," Ryoko replied, "Work was slow, so they let most of us off early. Come on, hook a girl up here! I'll have the same thing the new girl's having, plus my usual drink."

Heero folded his arms. "Can you afford it? You know I don't do tabs, Ryoko… unlike some of the places you've dashed on."

Kiyone watched as she pulled out her wallet and flashed a handful of bills. "There, you see; I'm totally good for it. Come on, Heero, you know I'd never stiff you! You're about the only person in this town that treats me right, after all."

"If you say so," Heero replied before turning back towards the kitchen, "Sasami?"

She poked her head out and smiled when she saw the newcomer. "Oh, hey Ryoko! Do you want the usual?"

Ryoko grinned. "I'm mixing it up this time, kid. Tempura noodles for dinner, but you can keep my drink the same!"

"You got it!" Sasami replied before disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Oh," said Ayeka, glaring as she approached the newcomer, "it's _you_. If you must get inebriated here again, would kindly do us a favor and vomit _outside_ the premises this time?"

"Ayeka," said Heero, "she's a customer right now, and you're on the clock. Try to be professional, all right?"

Ayeka sighed. "Very well, Heero."

He then turned to Ryoko. "That being said, her point is valid, which is why I'm going to cut you off before you get _that_ drunk. Do you have a problem with that, Ryoko?"

"Nah, it's cool," Ryoko replied, "I didn't come here tonight to get hammered, just to chill."

Heero sighed with relief. "Good. I'll go get your drink."

As he disappeared behind the bar she turned to Kiyone. "So, fresh off the boat?"

"Yes," said Kiyone as she took a sip of her tea, "Is that a problem?"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Lighten up, okay? It's not like you're the first newbie to roll into town this year… although I thought we had seen the last of them for this season."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "You mean it's not uncommon for new people to show up in a place like this?"

"I wouldn't go that far," said Heero as he returned with a bottle of sake and a cup for Ryoko, "but it's not unheard of, either."

"Why's that?" asked Kiyone, "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but…"

"A little town like ours doesn't seem like it'd be at the top of many peoples' travel lists," Heero finished for her as he poured Ryoko's drink, "Sound about right?"

Kiyone nodded. "Well… yeah. Again, I'm not trying to be insulting here…"

Heero shook his head. "It's all right. This place is pretty out of the way, and for most people it really doesn't have much to recommend it. Most of the establishments around here more or less support the local fishermen, and this restaurant is no exception. If people aren't involved in either that industry or a supporting one like ours then they really don't have much of a reason to come out here. It's off the beaten path… but, then again, some people deliberately seek it out precisely because of that."

 _Like me_ , she thought as she took another bite of her meal, _I came out here because it was about as far from my old life as I could imagine…_

"Not all of the newcomers stick around," said Ryoko as she pounded back her first cup of sake, "but the ones that do tend to be pretty interesting. You know what I'm talking about, right, Heero?"

"Not really," the young man replied.

Kiyone's eyes narrowed as she studied him. He seemed to be dodging Ryoko's question. Why was that? Was there something more to Heero than just his current occupation?

She was curious, but right now wasn't the time to pry. She had just arrived in this town, and it wouldn't do her any favors to ask too many questions right off the bat and potentially alienate a new friend. Kiyone would file away her questions for another time. For now, she decided to return her attention to the delicious meal in front of her and wasted no time in digging back into her dish.

"Here you go, Ryoko!" chirped Sasami as she brought out another bowl of tempura noodles and placed it in front of her.

Ryoko grinned as she dived right into her meal. "Thanks, Sasami!"

More customers filed in, causing Heero and his staff to disperse so they could attend to all the patrons. Most of the newcomers looked like fishermen, but there were also a few families in the mix, along with a smattering of people from other walks of life. The place was getting busier, but it still maintained that cozy feeling that had hit Kiyone when she'd first walked in the door. She couldn't help but smile as the evening went on and she gradually ate her meal. If she could look forward to spending time at a place like this every night after work, then that might just be reason enough to stick around this town for a while.

 _Well, that's if I can find a place to stay for cheap_ , she mused, _I don't know this town very well, and I'm really starting to wear down my savings. I'm really not sure where I go from here…_

All too soon, she hit the bottom of her bowl. She finished off her tea and water, and before she could even ask for the check Heero was behind the bar passing it to her. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the bill; she knew he'd told her that what she'd ordered was cheap, but the bill still seemed a bit light even for that.

"Not that I'm trying to complain," she said cautiously, "but… are you sure this is the right amount?"

"Call it a courtesy for a first time customer," said Heero.

Kiyone smiled. "That's awfully generous of you, but I don't want to hurt your business."

Heero shook his head. "I appreciate the concern, but we do pretty well here. Besides, someone in your circumstances could use the favor."

Kiyone sighed as she pulled out some bills and passed them towards him. "I can't argue with that. Thanks for the meal. I really needed this."

Heero nodded. "If you head up the road about a block, you'll come to an inn on the right side of the street. I've got an understanding with the manager there; if you tell him I sent you he'll give you a discounted rate for a couple days."

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" he deadpanned.

Kiyone bowed her head. "Thank you so much! I promise I'll find a way to pay you back."

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"You're a lucky girl," said Ryoko as she downed another cup of sake, "Heero's got a soft spot for your type."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "My _type_? What are you referring to?"

"Don't play dumb," Ryoko replied, "You know what I'm talking about. You're lost and looking for a fresh start. It's written all over your face. Helps that he used to be that way, too."

Kiyone looked over at Heero. "Really?"

"I don't know what she's talking about," said Heero, although the slightest stiffening in his demeanor seemed to hint that he wasn't being entirely honest.

She saw him look down toward the opposite end of the bar, and while another observer might think he was checking up on a customer Kiyone had the feeling that Heero was looking for an excuse to remove himself from the conversation now that it had swung his way. Her curiosity was once again piqued, but she decided not to press the matter. He had just done her not one but two favors this evening, and she didn't have the right to pry into his past so soon after meeting him.

"All right," she said as she stood up and grabbed her bag from the floor, "Thanks again for the meal and the directions, Heero. I owe you one."

"I told you not to worry about that," said Heero, "but… you're welcome, just the same."

She smiled before heading out the door. "I'll see you around, then."

"Take care," he replied.

….

 **A few days later…**

"How's the job hunting going?" asked Heero as he passed her meal to her.

Kiyone sighed as she took a sip of her tea. "Not as well as I'd hoped."

That was an understatement. She felt like she had scoured ever possible employer in town, but none of them were hiring. Kiyone still had enough cash to last her a few more days, but if things didn't turn around soon she would definitely be in trouble.

"That's terrible," said Ayeka, "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Hang in there!" chirped Sasami.

Kiyone smiled as she blew the steam from her bowl. "I'll be all right, Sasami."

It was late afternoon, but Kiyone had spent so much of the day job hunting already that she hadn't had time to eat lunch until now. Who knew that the skills she'd picked up as a police officer wouldn't translate into talents people were looking for in the job market in this community? She racked her brain to figure out where else she could possibly look for employment in this town, but right now she was coming up empty.

 _What am I supposed to do now?_ , she thought as she started eating her lunch, _I have to find some way to make a living, but this town isn't exactly bustling with job opportunities right now. I'd really like to stick around here if possible, but at this rate I might have to move on._

"I'm surprised no one's taken you on," said Heero, snapping her out of her thoughts, "You seem like a dependable person, if nothing else. I don't know what your previous line of work was, but you strike me as the type that could adapt to a new job pretty quickly if you had to."

Kiyone nodded. "I'd like to think so, but I guess the businesses in this town just don't have room for new staff right now. It seems I've come at a bad time."

Heero was studying her carefully, and Kiyone wondered what was going through his mind. She'd come by her at least once a day since arriving in this town, and while she felt like she'd build something of a rapport with the restaurant's head honcho she still had a difficult time reading him. He had a guarded feel to him; he was kind and courteous to others, but he wouldn't hesitate to deflect if a conversation turned to the topic of what he'd done before winding up in this town.

"You've really got nothing lined up right now?" he asked after a moment.

Kiyone shook her head. "Believe me, I wish it were otherwise."

"And you don't have another destination in mind past this town?" he continued, his eyes narrowing.

Kiyone nodded. "Honestly, I hadn't thought about going anywhere beyond this place."

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. "Well… I suppose it can't be helped, then. When can you start?"

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me," he said as he opened his eyes, "When can you start working here?"

She was floored by what he was saying. "You're offering me a job? Just like that?"

"I do run this place," he said, "I can take on whoever I feel like, whenever I feel like. It's not exactly glamorous work, but we get steady business here; you'll make enough to get by in this town if you're planning on sticking around here for a while. We've been doing pretty well for ourselves, and we could definitely use another set of hands around here. I think you'd do all right, but it's your call."

Kiyone smiled and nodded. "Yes, absolutely! I can start right now if you want!"

She was surprised to see a small smirk appear on his face. "Well, I'd rather you at least finish your lunch before I put you to work. If you're really that eager to get started, once you're done eating you can let me know and I'll start up your orientation. We can talk salary after that."

Kiyone bowed her head. "Thank you so much! I promise that you won't regret this."

Heero nodded. "I believe you. I'm looking forward to working with you."

He went off to help another customer, leaving her to continue her meal by herself. Her smile remained on her face the whole time. She couldn't believe her good fortune. She'd been on the verge of a major crisis, and out of the blue Heero had offered her a lifeline. Kiyone wanted to find some way to pay him back for all he'd done for her since she'd arrived in this town, but she had no idea where to start. For now she would simply focus on being the best employee she could; she'd figure out the rest later on.

 _I was really starting to worry there_ , she thought as she took a sip of her tea, _but it seems like my luck's finally turning around._

She looked over at the young man who had given her such a badly needed hand.

 _Heero Yuy…_

 _…you're quite a guy, you know that?_

 _If I'd had someone like you in my life back then…_

 _…maybe things would've turned out differently._

….

 **A few days later…**

"Here you go," said Kiyone cheerfully as she passed a bowl of noodles across the bar to a customer.

The man smiled as he smelled his dish. "Ah, thanks! That's just what I need after a long day at work."

Kiyone nodded. "Please, let us know if you need anything else. Enjoy your meal!"

"Kiyone!" cried Sasami as she brought out another meal, "Can you get this to Table Five please?"

Kiyone smiled as she took the tray from Sasami. "Of course. I'll get right on it."

Sasami nodded. "Thanks! I'd take it myself, but I'm pretty busy back in the kitchen right now."

"I'll bet," said Kiyone as she looked around, "We've got quite a crowd going right now."

"We're almost through the worst of it," said Ayeka as she walked by with drinks for another table, "Give it another half an hour or so and it should start easing up."

Kiyone nodded. "Sounds good. I think I'll be able to manage until then."

It was hard to believe how far she'd come in just a handful of days. When Heero had first started her orientation here, Kiyone had felt a little overwhelmed. The restaurant might be small, but it was hardly a small task to keep it running and earning a profit. It had been a very eye-opening experience and a complete one-eighty from her prior occupation, but she'd done her best to keep up and learn on the fly. Apparently she was on the right track; Heero hadn't fired her yet, at least.

It hadn't taken the regular customers long to realize that there was a new face amongst the restaurant staff. Kiyone had been slightly worried about how they'd receive her, but it turned out her fears had been misplaced. The establishment's clientele were, for the most part, a kind and understanding bunch, and they'd given her a warm welcome. There had been a few customers who were a little overly enthusiastic about the presence of another young woman on the staff, but a couple of stern looks from Heero ensured that they kept their hands to themselves.

As soon as she delivered her tray to the waiting customer she headed right back to the kitchen for the next one. The place was doing steady business this evening, and it had been much the same the past few days as well. It had forced Kiyone to hit the ground running as far as her new job was concerned, but she was actually grateful for that. Not only did it serve as effective on-the-job training for her, but it was a good sign of just how well this place typically did. If this sort of business traffic was the norm for this establishment then it meant that Kiyone had found herself a potentially secure job and a means to build up her savings again.

More importantly than that, though, were her new coworkers. Everyone, including Sasami, was very good at their jobs. They knew exactly what they had to do and worked together as a fluid team to keep their restaurant going. They could count on each other, and while there was the occasional mishap it was always something small, an incident that could be easily recovered from. There was no lurching from one giant mess to the next day by day; there was a consistency to this place that was invaluable to Kiyone after the train wreck of her last job.

 _This is it_ , she thought as she served up another customer, _I was looking for this. A simpler life, a new job with people that I can rely on… and I think I've found it. I never imagined myself going into the restaurant business to find it, but if this keeps up then I don't see why I'd ever leave._

She saw Heero looking at her from behind the bar. As always, his stoic demeanor made him hard to read, but when he met her gaze he gave her what looked like an approving nod. She smiled at him as she continued her work, glad that he appeared pleased with her progress. It wasn't just because she wanted to get on the good side of her new boss and keep her job; she was genuinely curious about him and wanted to get to know him better. He'd given her a new job and a chance at a fresh start after knowing her for only a few days, and that was certainly enough to get her interested in him.

 _He seems like a pretty nice guy where it counts_ , she thought, _I don't understand why he's so guarded._

Ryoko's words from her first day in the restaurant were never far from her mind.

 _"Heero's got a soft spot for your type."_

 _Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "My type? What are you referring to?"_

 _"Don't play dumb," Ryoko replied, "You know what I'm talking about. You're lost and looking for a fresh start. It's written all over your face. Helps that he used to be that way, too."_

It was hard to picture a man as calm and collected as him having once been as lost as she'd felt before coming to this town. He might've been young, but he still seemed to have his life together if the way he ran the restaurant was any indication. Ayeka and Sasami certainly seemed to be at ease around him, and the same went for the furry restaurant mascot as well. Did they already know what was up with him and were comfortable with it, or had they decided to simply respect his privacy as long as he treated them well? It was tempting for Kiyone to take the latter path, but the instincts from her old job hadn't completely died since she'd started her journey. Her new boss was a mystery, one that she wanted to crack open.

Of course, the trick was finding the opportunity to talk with him, and with the dinner rush still going Kiyone couldn't exactly put her work off for a casual conversation with him. Still, if Ayeka was correct, things would likely start to quiet down soon. The closing hour would likely be her best chance, but Kiyone would keep her eyes open for any opportunity that came up.

She continued to take orders and deliver food and drink, ever mindful of Ryo-Ohki occasionally slipping between her legs as she darted about the place. The adorable mascot of the restaurant seemed to have her own work routine as she made the rounds between tables, oftentimes hopping right up on them to interact with the customers. It seemed to be a familiar act, one that the establishment's clientele apparent enjoyed, and they would even slip her bits of food occasionally as a tip. The cute furball was much smarter than she appeared, and not for the first time Kiyone found herself wondering just where she had come from before winding up in this place.

 _She's such an odd little creature_ , she mused, _Still, it looks like she earns her keep around here. I guess that's all that matters for right now._

The night went on much as the last few had, and the crowd gradually started to thin out. Eventually the last few customers paid their bills and head out, and Heero gave them the nod that meant it was time to start closing up shop.

"Another productive evening," said Ayeka with a smile as she cleaned the tables, "I think we did even better than last night."

"It was a good crowd," said Kiyone while she swept the floor, "I was starting to get nervous there."

"You did fine," chirped Sasami as she carried several bowls back to the kitchen for washing, "Heero said so himself earlier."

Kiyone's eyes widened as she glanced at her boss, who was busy cleaning up behind the bar. "Really?"

Sasami grinned and nodded. "Yup! He said you were fitting in pretty well here. You're a natural at this, Kiyone!"

Kiyone smiled. "I… I'm glad to hear that. Thanks."

She finished up her sweeping a little while later and went to put the broom away. After that she went back up front and leaned against the bar, wanting to take a bit of a breather before wrapping up her duties for the night. Restaurant work was much more tiring than she'd originally thought, and after being unemployed for so long Kiyone was sure that it would take her stamina a while to build back up again.

"Mind if I join you?" said a familiar male voice, causing her to jump.

"Heero!" she said as she whirled around, finding him behind the bar, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to slack off!"

"Who said you were slacking off?" he replied, "It's been a long day; you've earned the right to rest up a little bit."

She sighed with relief. "Thank you. I just… I didn't want you to think that I couldn't handle this."

"And I don't," said Heero, "You've been pulling your own weight ever since you started here. Things can get pretty busy, and it can be a little hectic sometimes, but you've kept up with the rest of us just fine."

Kiyone smiled. "I appreciate that. I just want to do my best and prove to you that I deserve this job. I owe you at least that much after you hired me out of the blue like that."

"And you're doing just fine on that front," Heero replied as he pulled out a bottle of sake and some cups, "In fact, I think you've earned the right to celebrate a little."

Her eyes widened as he poured drinks for the two of them. "Are you sure?"

Heero nodded. "Consider it on the house. After a successful night like this, I think we can afford it."

"Well, then," she said as she grabbed her cup, "When you put it like that, who am I to refuse?"

He raised his cup. "To a successful start for your new career."

Kiyone smiled as she mirrored the gesture. "I'll drink to that."

The liquor hit her like a hard punch as it went down; it'd been a while since she'd had anything quite so strong. She could feel the heat rushing to her face, and while she wasn't the type to get flat out drunk she certainly didn't mind the sensation.

"That's some good stuff," she said.

"It's a personal favorite of mine," said Heero as he downed his cup, "I prefer to save it for special occasions, and I think this qualifies as one. Even if it didn't… well, sometimes it's good to have something to take the edge off."

"Does that happen often with you?" she asked cautiously.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and Kiyone feared that she might've taken a step too far. However, he didn't look angry, and when he opened them again she thought she saw a hint of melancholy in them.

"Not as often as it used to," he said, "Alcohol's not the answer to making peace with your past, no matter how tempting it might seem. Still, when memories that you'd rather keep buried start to crop up, sometimes a single drink can help bolster your defenses. It's not good to use it as a crutch, though."

"You're speaking from experience," she said, meeting his gaze, "How bad was it? Whatever you went through, I mean."

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, and his reply caught her a little off guard. "Your background… if I had to guess, I'd say law enforcement. Is that about right?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you…"

"The way you carried yourself when you first walked in here," said Heero, "and the way I've seen you scan crowds since then. You've got some sharp eyes, and I can tell from your demeanor when you're looking for potential troublemakers. It's subtle, but the shift's there just the same."

Kiyone nodded. "Sounds like I'm not the only one that's got sharp eyes. Yeah, you're right; I was a cop before I came out here. How about you? You're certainly observant enough to have been trained as one."

"Not quite," Heero replied, appearing uncharacteristically hesitant, "but it was a… related profession."

She studied him carefully. "In that case…military?"

"Yes," he said with a nod.

That certainly made sense; his calm demeanor and steely focus were definitely traits that she could identify as belonging to someone who had served in the armed forces. However, that just raised further questions as far as Kiyone was concerned.

"But… you're so young," she said, "I'm sorry, but you look like you're not even as old as I am."

"I don't doubt that a bit," he said, "My upbringing and talents were enough to let me slip by a few regulations concerning that, though."

Kiyone shuddered; she didn't want to think about what _that_ implied. "So… you've seen some action then, haven't you?"

"Why do you think I'm out here now?" he replied.

Kiyone winced. "That bad, huh?"

"All action is bad," said Heero grimly, "The only differences are simply _how_ bad it can get."

Kiyone looked down, ashamed to have touched upon what was clearly a deep scar for him. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have pried like that."

Heero shook his head. "It's all right. I wouldn't be talking to you like this now if it wasn't, would I?"

"Still," she said, "after all you've done for me, I don't want to intrude on your private life."

"You have the right to know who you're working for," said Heero, "just like I have the right to know who I'm employing. Trust is a two way street. A little bit of give and take can go a long way."

Kiyone smiled. "You sound like one of my old instructors. Of course, that was in a course on interrogations."

"And our current conversation doesn't apply as one?" he said wryly.

"Well, I'd rather avoid interrogating my new boss," she said with a chuckle, "I'd prefer not to jeopardize my current job."

"Relax," said Heero, "You're safe."

Kiyone nodded. "All right. In that case, if you don't mind me asking, how did you come to run this place?"

"A relative of Ayeka and Sasami owned this restaurant back when I first showed up here," he replied, "I came in one day for a meal, and by the time I finished eating I had a new job; the old man took a liking to me, although to this day I'm still not entirely sure why."

"Where's he at now?" asked Kiyone.

Heero shrugged. "I don't know. One day he was here, the next he just up and left. He left a note asking me to run the place and keep an eye on the girls, and that was it. I've been here ever since."

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "Did you ever try to figure out where he went?"

Heero nodded. "Sure. I asked some of the regulars and his friends around the town, but I didn't get much. What they did tell me gave me the impression he'd been planning on leaving for some time; something about no longer hiding from his past. I didn't get much more than that, though."

"How did Ayeka and Sasami take it?" she asked.

He looked back at the kitchen where both girls were cleaning up before answering. "Better than I thought they would. I think they were expecting something like that to happen, although not the exact timing. It was tough adjusting to the old man not being around anymore, but we managed to make it through. We're still here, aren't we?"

Kiyone smiled. "Indeed, you are, and for that I'm quite grateful. I owe you one for all that you've done for me."

"Just keep up the good work," said Heero, "and we can call it even."

Kiyone nodded. "All right. I should get back to it, then. This place won't clean itself, after all."

"Can't argue with that," said Heero.

He returned to setting the bar in order for the night, but before Kiyone returned to her duties she turned back to Heero again. "Hey, Heero?"

"Yes?" he said.

She smiled. "If you ever want to talk again sometime… well, I'm not going anywhere for a while."

She was surprised to see him give her a very small smile in return. "I might take you up on that. The same goes for you; if you need to get something off your chest, you know where to find me."

Kiyone didn't know why, but she could feel herself blushing. "I… I appreciate that. Thanks."

She hurried back to her cleanup duties, and Heero did the same. The whole time she was playing her part in closing down the restaurant for the night, her smile never left her face.

 _What is it about him?_ , she thought, _Why does it feel like I can just talk to him about anything? I haven't trusted someone like this in a long time. I still barely know him, and yet I'm completely comfortable around him. All those other towns that I passed through on my way here… none of them had a guy like him in them._

 _Maybe that's why this place feels like the one that I can settle down in…_

 _…because_ he's _here._

….

 **A few days later…**

"Hey, new girl?" said Ryoko with a grin as she held up her empty sake cup, "How about a refill?"

Behind the bar, Kiyone turned to Heero, who gave her a nod. "Go ahead. I'll let you know when to cut her off."

Kiyone smiled before turning back to her customer. "All right. Coming right up!"

It was late in the afternoon, which meant that the restaurant staff was enjoying the relative calm before the imminent dinner rush. Apart from Ryoko there were just a handful of customers, so Heero was taking advantage of the light traffic to give Kiyone the opportunity to try some new roles within her job. It hadn't taken her long to get used to working the bar with him, and she was glad to be back there rather than walking the floor from table to table.

"Here you go," she said as she poured Ryoko her drink.

"Thanks," Ryoko replied before pounding it back, "I knew you were good for something."

Heero folded his arms. "Ryoko."

"What?" she said, "I did say 'thanks', didn't I? What more do you want?"

"For you to be a little more polite to my newest staff member," he said firmly, "I know you and Ayeka banter back and forth, and I'm fine with that, but I'd appreciate it if you'd not do the same with Kiyone."

Kiyone shook her head and smiled. "It's all right, Heero. Trust me; I can handle it."

Heero nodded. "Okay. I've still got your back if she gets out of hand, though."

Kiyone chuckled. "Thanks. I'll hold you to that."

Ryoko smirked. "Well, you two are pretty chummy these days, aren't you? Something going on that you want to tell me about?"

Kiyone didn't know why, but she could feel herself blushing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Come on, admit it; you two hooked up. Gotta say, I'm kinda impressed; you move fast, new girl."

"It's not like that!" Kiyone snapped, her face only growing redder despite the fact that she was telling the truth.

"You two are lively today," said Sasami as she came out with a tray laden with steaming bowls of noodles, "What's going on, Kiyone?"

"Nothing! We're just… chatting," said Kiyone, unsure if Sasami should be exposed to what Ryoko was implying.

Sasami smiled. "Well, save the good stuff for me! I'll be back in a minute!"

 _The good stuff?_ , thought Kiyone as she watched her younger coworker take her tray to one of the tables, _Does she really know what she's talking about? If she does… then this kid's a lot smarter than she looks._

She nearly jumped out of her shoes as Ryo-Ohki hopped up onto the bar next to her. "Meow!"

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Kiyone scowled at her furry companion. "Crap, Ryo-Ohki… don't scare me like that, all right? Someone needs to get you a collar with a bell."

"That's not a bad idea," said Ayeka as she came out with a cup of tea, "I think Sasami would like that. It certainly sounds cute."

"Feel free to run that by her," said Heero as she went to deliver the tea to a customer, "I'll pay for it myself if she thinks Ryo-Ohki will like it."

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Heero."

Kiyone looked down at Ryo-Ohki again, who was smiling up at her without a care in the world. In the face of that overwhelmingly adorable face, Kiyone's scowl just couldn't hold together. She sighed before reaching down to pet the creature on the head.

"You're lucky you're cute, you know that?" she said, "That's the only reason I'm letting you off the hook for nearly giving me a heart attack."

"That gets her off the hook for pretty much anything as far as Ayeka and Sasami are concerned," said Heero, shaking his head, "Cuteness is a powerful survival tool for her."

Kiyone smirked. "Oh, yeah? Does it work on you too, Heero?"

Heero shrugged. "Maybe. I do let her stay here, after all."

Kiyone couldn't help but laugh. "So cuteness _does_ influence you, huh? Good to know."

She was surprised to see him chuckle. "Perhaps you should start taking pointers from Ryo-Ohki if you're hoping to use it against me. I hear she can be bribed with carrots."

"Don't give her too many!" chirped Sasami as she passed by on her way back to the kitchen, "She needs to watch her weight!"

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki whined.

"It sounds like she disagrees," said Heero.

"Of course she does," said Ryoko with a grin as she reached over to pet her, "Don't let them shortchange you, furball!"

"If you want to give her snacks, you're free to offer her a bite of your dish," Heero replied.

"Maybe I will," said Ryoko, "I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you, Ryo-Ohki?"

"Meow!" cried the adorable mascot.

Ryoko fished a carrot out of her bowl with her chopsticks and passed it to the cute furball. "There you go! Now, tell me; who's your favorite customer?"

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki cheered as she wolfed down the carrot.

Kiyone chuckled and shook her head. "She's easily bought."

"Well, she has simple needs," said Heero, "and it doesn't take much to hit the right price with her."

 _She's not the only one with simple needs_ , Kiyone mused as she got back to work, _I think I've found mine out here…_

Indeed, the longer she spent at Heero's restaurant, the more she felt like this was the place she had been searching for since her journey began. A cozy little place where she could make a peaceful living, forge a few new friendships, and build a quiet life for herself away from the mayhem that she'd once known… it was so simple, and yet it was so important to Kiyone that she'd abandoned her old career and lifestyle to find it.

 _I just might've found where I belong_ , she thought as she looked at her boss, _and I owe it all to you, Heero…_

He'd given her shelter when she'd badly needed it. He'd given her good food and gainful employment even though he barely knew her. When they'd first met, she'd been just another customer; he had no obligation towards her, no duty to go out of his way to help a total stranger like her. Yet he had done exactly that. He had reached out and offered her a helping hand that she hadn't realized until that moment just how badly she needed. Despite his protests, Kiyone still felt deeply indebted to him, and wanted to find some way to return the favor.

She felt like the more she got to know him, the better the chance she would have to figure out the best way to repay him for his kindness to her. So much of him was still a mystery to her, but bit by bit she was starting to peel away the layers, gradually finding out just what kind of man he truly was. It felt like she was unraveling a mystery, only this one felt so much more rewarding then the cases she'd worked on back when she was a cop. There was no promotion or monetary gain to be had in doing so, but there was something much more satisfying to her; the chance to make a true, lifelong friend… and perhaps more.

What all had he left behind when he'd come out here? Was it just his military career that he'd abandoned, or was there more than that? Had he left behind parents? Siblings?

A woman?

That last question was one that she wanted to find an answer to more than the rest. If there was a woman in his life at this time, Kiyone was sure she would've seen some sign of them by now. Everything so far indicated that Heero was single, but had it always been that way? Kiyone found that hard to believe; a man like him was quite a catch, as any girl who took the time to get to know him like she had would attest to.

 _I never imagined myself hitting on my boss in my last line of work_ , she mused with a smile, _but with him… well, the temptation's there. He'd definitely be worth the risk…_

She shook her head, trying to bring her focus back to her job. Now wasn't the time for idle daydreaming. Things were relatively lax now, but the dinner rush would be starting all too soon, and she had to get ready for that. So she busied herself with some cleaning, but even then she couldn't help but hum a soft tune and occasionally glance at her employer. If he knew she was watching him, Heero gave no sign of it.

Life was good. She'd found a new job, a new place to stay, new friends, and quite possibly more depending on whether or not she ever worked up the nerve to make a move on Heero. She could see herself settling down for the long haul in this town, making a quiet living for herself as far removed from her old life as possible, and she couldn't be happier about it.

Until a familiar voice brought it all crashing down.

"Excuse me," said a woman from outside the restaurant, "You guys are open, right?"

Kiyone's face paled.

 _No..._

 _It can't be…_

 _It's not possible!_

 _She can't have found me!_

"Of course we are," said Heero, oblivious to the walking calamity that he was about to invite into his establishment, "Come on in."

"You've got to be kidding me…" she said softly.

"Kiyone, are you all right?" asked Ayeka.

"Why?" Kiyone muttered, completely ignoring her coworker, "Why _now_?"

 _This can't be happening!_

Sure enough, there she was a second later. That dark skin, curly blond hair, wide and innocent blue eyes, and clueless smile… they were a sight that Kiyone had prayed that she would never see again.

Mihoshi Kuramitsu.

"Welcome!" chirped Sasami.

"Please, have a seat," said Heero.

Kiyone was completely frozen as Mihoshi approached the bar. She prayed that she would somehow escape notice, but it was a vain hope. As soon as she sat down her old partner found her, and Mihoshi's eyes widened with delight.

"Kiyone!" she cried, "I finally found you!"

 _God damn it!_ , she silently screamed, _Why? Why do you have to be inflicted upon me like all the plagues of Juraian mythology?_

 _What did I do to deserve the likes of you constantly ruining my life?_

"And _there_ we go!" said another familiar female voice.

Everything froze, but Kiyone was still aware of her surroundings. At the very edge of her peripheral vision she spotted the source of the voice and the rest of this madness; Washu. The Dimension Turner was floating in front of her, and her fingers were dancing across a hard-light keyboard.

" _Finally_ ," said Washu as she wiped the sweat from her brow, "It took a lot longer than I thought it would to close this one out. Well, better late than never, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" snapped Ryoko, "That took you _forever_ , Washu! I swear, this world was worse than Ayeka's!"

"At least you weren't a demon in this one," said Heero.

"Hey, being a demon was fun!" Ryoko replied, "This world was just boring."

Kiyone blushed. "Well, _my_ idea of a dream world doesn't involve me being an active criminal, so it _would_ have a slower pace than any world _you_ mightcome up with!"

"It was all right," said Sasami, "I liked working in the kitchen!"

"It certainly was a unique experience," said Ayeka, "Although, really, Kiyone; operating a restaurant is beneath someone of my social standing. How could you possibly see me in that role?"

"You got to work for Heero," said Ryoko, "I didn't think you'd complain about that."

Ayeka blushed. "I most certainly am not."

"I want to know why I didn't show up until the very end," Mihoshi pouted, "Kiyone, why did you keep me out of the fun?"

The answer to that was obvious, but even now Kiyone couldn't bear to bring herself to tell the truth to her partner. She needed, more than anything else, some time and space _away_ from Mihoshi, and that's what she'd gone for with her dream world.

So why had Mihoshi wound up finding her anyway?

This was supposed to be a perfect world for her, and Kiyone's ideal world wasn't supposed to include Mihoshi. She recalled Washu mentioning that the Dimension Turner didn't just use the subject's manual inputs; subconscious thoughts and desires also played a role in determining the kind of world the device created.

 _But that would mean…_

 _…that part of me_ likes _having Mihoshi in my life._

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_

"Kiyone?" said Mihoshi, "Kiyone, can you hear me? Are you doing okay?"

Kiyone sighed. "Yeah… I'm just fine."

"Well, good," said Washu, "You lot better brace yourselves, because the next world's coming up fast!"

….

 _Azaka: And with that, our band of time and space travelers have passed through their second world._

 _Kamidake: It was so unlike the one that came before it._

 _Azaka: Indeed, and it is far from the end of their journey._

 _Kamidake: Two worlds down, with four more to go!_

 _Azaka: Who can say what surprises the next world shall hold for our merry bunch of friends?_

 _Kamidake: It's anyone's guess at this point. All options are on the table!_

 _Azaka: And so, without further adieu, let us join our companions in the next world._

 _Kamidake: We hope you enjoy the ride!_

….

Her hand went to her mouth as Ayeka tried and failed to stifle a yawn. She'd tried to rest up as best as possible the night before, but her studies had gone longer than intended. That was one of the unfortunate side effects of being the Student Committee Chairwoman; she had to excel in all aspects of academic life, otherwise her peers would not consider her to be worthy of her position at school.

"So, even Miss Perfect gets tired once in a while, eh?" said a familiar female voice from behind her.

Ayeka whirled around, her eyes widening as she saw Ryoko. "How long have you been standing there? Have you been following me?"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over yourself. We both walk the same way to school each day."

Ayeka folded her arms. "Yes, but normally I never see you because you leave so late. If we're meeting here right now then it means you'll actually be on time today. My, my; that's such an uncommon occurrence, wouldn't you say?"

Ryoko sighed. "Yeah, well, if I'd known I was going to run into you like this I would've left late. Man, what a lousy way to start the day!"

Ayeka glared. "Well, then why don't you just go home! It's not like anyone would notice if you arrived at school late again, or even skipped altogether! You're nothing but a delinquent; I can't believe you haven't been kicked out of school yet."

Ryoko scowled. "Are you trying to pick a fight? Bring it on, Committee Chair; I promise you'll break more than just a nail."

"I see hostilities have commenced early today," said an approaching mail voice, "You two couldn't even wait until lunch hour to start going at it."

Both girls immediately smiled at the speaker, who was none other than Heero Yuy. Ayeka's heart fluttered when she saw him. Yes, he had on the exact same black uniform required by other male students at their school, but he wore it so much better than the other boys in class.

"Good morning, Heero!" she said.

"Hey! How's it going?" asked Ryoko.

"That depends," said Heero, "Will you two be fighting all day?"

"Oh, heavens no!" said Ayeka, "We were just exchanging morning pleasantries, weren't we, Ryoko?"

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, what she said. No need to worry, Heero!"

Heero nodded. "Good. Let's get a move on."

He continued past the two of them, and as soon as his back was turned Ayeka and Ryoko glared at each other. Of course their fighting was not concluded for the day; it had only just begun. Still, they would try to at least refrain from recommencing hostilities until they actually arrived at school.

And so the three of them continued on their way…

…completely unaware of the fact that they were being watched.

….

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" muttered Mihoshi as she rushed towards the school.

She could already hear the morning bell ringing. This was so embarrassing; she had overslept yet again, and she was quickly loosing count of how many days she had shown up at school just as the final morning bell stopped ringing, or even afterwards. It would be one thing if she were one of the more unruly students enrolled on campus, but the fact that she was a teacher made things worse.

 _Oh, man_ , she thought, _If Kiyone finds out about this she's really going to let me have it!_

She was just about at the front gate, but right when she crossed the threshold she tripped and fell flat on her face. As she got up she saw the clock on the far wall; it had just turned eight-thirty.

"Oh, no, wait!" she cried as she dusted herself off, "It can't be that time already!"

 _I'm really in for it now!_

….

Kiyone smiled as she finished studying the final notes for her lesson plan. "All right, everything looks good!"

She then scanned the office that she shared with several other teachers. The rest of her colleagues were likewise putting the final touches on their schedules for the day before heading off to their respective classrooms. As she looked around the room she could not help but notice the rather conspicuous absence of a certain blonde-haired teacher.

"Oh, come on, Mihoshi!" she hissed, "Not again!"

As if on cue, there was a loud thud as someone came tumbling through the office door and hit the floor. Walking towards the entrance, Kiyone found her coworker and friend sprawled out down below, as uncoordinated a mess as ever.

"Ow," Mihoshi moaned, "That hurt!"

Kiyone sighed. "You're late _again_ , Mihoshi!"

"I'm so sorry, Kiyone!" Mihoshi replied as she scrambled to her feet.

Kiyone hung her head in frustration. "Really, Mihoshi! What kind of teacher arrives at work late as often as you do? What kind of example does that set for your students?"

"It's not like I _try_ to be late so much!" Mihoshi shot back.

Kiyone shook her head. "Honestly, at this point I'm so exasperated that it gives me a headache just talking about it. I can't just stand by and let this behavior slide forever, Mihoshi!"

"Please don't be that way!" begged Mihoshi, "Don't abandon me, Kiyone!"

Kiyone scowled. "I would've abandoned you a long time ago if I could have!"

"Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi.

It was then that the bell rang again, interrupting their argument. Kiyone's eyes widened as she checked the clock.

"Oh, great!" she growled, "Now _I'm_ going to be late for _my_ class! I hope you're happy, Mihoshi. Now I'm tardy just like you!"

Mihoshi's eyes widened. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry, Kiyone!"

"Then make it up to me by not being late anymore!" snapped Kiyone as she ran out of the office towards her classroom.

 _This is_ not _how I wanted to start my day_ , she thought, _I hope the rest of it goes better than this…_

….

Sitting at her desk, Mihoshi was fighting like hell just to stay awake. It would set yet another bad example for her students if she started nodding off in the middle of class, but she was afraid she might end up doing so anyway. It was nothing short of a miracle that she was still leading the current lesson, and she was fading fast.

"Well," she said, stifling a yawn, "up next is _Uji-Shui-Story, Volume 4_. In this story, about the demon at Rasho-mon, the demon and a warrior create a triangle relationship with a princess and…"

Her weariness seemed to be infectious; almost every student in her class was either zonked out already or gradually nodding off. Even a student as respectable as Ayeka seemed to be struggling to keep her eyes open, which was certainly a rare sight. That should've been reason enough for Mihoshi to head to the break room, down some coffee, and come back energized by the power of caffeine, but she couldn't even motivate herself to do that right now.

She was surprised to see that Ryoko wasn't among the students that were nodding off. Quite the contrary; she was actually smiling as she looked at her book. Then again, given Ryoko's past record with classes it was doubtful that the girl was actually enjoying the lecture. It was more likely that she had found something else amusing and was simply using the book as a cover for it.

As if on cue, Ayeka stood up and glared at her classmate. "Ryoko, just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Mihoshi looked on as Ryoko raised an eyebrow at the Student Committee Chairwoman. "Just enjoying the lecture. What's up with you, Ayeka?"

Out of the corner of her eye Mihoshi saw Heero put his palm to his forehead. "Here we go again…"

Ryoko smiled. "I'm just having my early lunch. What's wrong with that?"

Looking closer, Mihoshi realized that Ryoko did indeed have her book propped up in a way that would be quite good for concealing food. It wasn't something that Mihoshi was overly concerned with, though; she was perfectly fine with her students eating in class. It was only Ayeka, the strict disciplinarian that she was, who had any sort of problem with it.

Ayeka scowled. "And since when does a high school lunch include _sake_?"

Mihoshi raised an eyebrow. Sake? Had the school changed its policy on alcohol on school grounds?

Ryoko shrugged. "Since today, I guess. Want some?"

"I most certainly do not!" Ayeka snapped, "Oh, I cannot believe you! Your run-of-the-mill delinquency is one thing, but this? We're in a classroom, not a bar!"

"Oh, relax," she said as she raised her glass, "I only poured myself one cup of it. It's not like I'm going to get hammered in the middle of class, so there's no problem, right?"

"The fact that you are consuming alcohol in the middle of class at all is problem enough!" Ayeka shot back.

"Oh, get over it already," said Ryoko.

"You are so disrespectful," Ayeka replied, "You're absolutely beyond decency!"

 _Guess I can't let them go on like this_ , thought Mihoshi, _They're disrupting class._

She stood up, trying to wake up as she addressed the two arguing students. "Hey, you two! Please be quiet, all right? We're in the middle of lecture here! If you don't calm down I'll have to get angry!"

"Please say something to her, Miss Mihoshi!" cried Ayeka, "She's gone too far this time!"

Mihoshi nodded before walking over to the two girls and clearing her throat. "Miss Ryoko…"

Ryoko smiled and held out the cup of sake. "You want some, too? Here, try it."

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, thank you, Ryoko! That's just what I need!"

"Miss Mihoshi!" Ayeka shouted, "You absolutely cannot be serious!"

Mihoshi sighed; so much for indulging herself a little bit. Still, the Student Committee Chairwoman had a point; she really wasn't supposed to be encouraging this kind of behavior in her classroom.

She put on her sternest face possible as she addressed her problem student. "Miss Ryoko, you may not drink sake in this classroom."

Ayeka folded her arms and smiled. "That's right!"

"If you want to drink sake," Mihoshi continued, "wait until you get home and have some with your dinner, okay?"

"That's not right at all!" Ayeka screamed.

Ryoko grinned and raised her cup again. "Hey, now, there's no need to be so uptight. Why don't you share a drink with me, Miss Mihoshi? We can toast to friendship!"

Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, I'd just love that! That's so very kind of you, Ryoko!"

Ayeka looked like she was about to pull her hair out in aggravation. "Just what in the world is wrong with the two of you? Aaagh!"

At the edge of her vision she saw Heero roll his eyes. "This is going to be a long class…"

She couldn't argue with him there.

….

The warm spring sun beat down as Heero kept his eyes on the student up at bat. He was out in left field, which was his usual position whenever they played baseball during P.E. It wasn't his favorite game, but it definitely beat staying cooped up in Mihoshi's classroom.

His eyes narrowed as the pitcher wound up before throwing the ball as hard as they could. The student at bat swung and landed a solid hit, and the ball went flying out towards Heero's side of the field.

"Get it, Heero!" yelled the third basemen.

 _Easy for you to say_ , he thought as he started running back, _This one's going to clear the field at this rate…_

Sure enough, the ball flew well over Heero and beyond the baseball field itself. It came down in a group of trees and bushes that were still on school grounds, but Heero knew that by the time he retrieved the ball the runner would've made it all the way back to home plate.

"So much for that one," he muttered.

"Heero, what are you doing?" yelled the catcher, "Go get it!"

"What's the point?" he called back, "They'll score before I can get it out of there!"

"Yeah, but we're running low on balls," the catcher replied, "Go see if you can find that one!"

Heero shrugged and headed over to where he'd seen the ball come down. His odds of finding it were pretty low, but he'd at least take a shot at it.

"Okay, then," he muttered as he started ruffling through the bushes, "Where did that thing land?"

It took a couple minutes of searching, but he was eventually able to find the ball. In fact, he actually found two of them, although the second one didn't really look like a baseball.

"What's this?" he said as he picked it up.

He was surprised to see that the 'ball' was actually a lump of bruised skin. Not only that, but it was attached to what appeared to be a dazed and confused creature that was part cat and part rabbit.

"Meow…" the strange creature murmured, raising its front paws to rub its head.

Cradling the creature in his arms, Heero rubbed its head. "I take it this is from our game. Sorry about that."

"Meow," was the creature's reply.

He wasn't sure what the best way to help the mysterious furball was, so he just continued to rub the lump on its head. That seemed to work well enough; the creature appeared to relax, and he could've sworn he heard it start to purr.

"You like that, huh?" he said with a chuckle, "Well, I guess it's the least I can do since you took that hit because of us."

He studied the creature closely. "So, what exactly are you? Would you say cat or rabbit?"

"Meow," said the creature again.

Heero shook his head. "Right, what am I doing, trying to talk to you? If I keep this up, someone will come along and think that _I_ took that ball to the head."

He reached into his pocket. "Actually, I might have something here that'll work a little better than a head rub. Hold on a second…"

He pulled out a handkerchief and got to work. About a minute later he had fashioned it into a makeshift bandage for the creature and had it securely tied to its head.

"There," he said, "How's that?"

Much to his surprise, the furball seemed to be smiling at him. "Meow!"

Heero nodded. "Glad you like it. Now keep that on for a while. The swelling should subside by tomorrow morning."

The creature nodded at him. "Meow."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Maybe you really _do_ understand me…"

There was a faint rustling sound behind him, and as he turned around he saw a girl step out from behind a tree and smile. "Ryo-Ohki! There you are!"

"Meow!" cried the creature as it ran over to her.

The girl wasn't a familiar face for Heero. In fact, based on her attire he didn't think she even went to the same school as him, plus she seemed closer to a middle school rather than a high school student. She wore a white shirt with an orange vest, along with a matching orange skirt. Her teal hair was tied into two long tails, and she had bright red eyes.

The creature hopped right into her open arms, and the girl smiled. "So this is where you've been hiding. I've been looking everywhere for you, Ryo-Ohki!"

"Meow, meow!" the furball replied.

The girl leaned forward. "Hey, what's with this handkerchief?"

"That was my doing," said Heero, "Your little friend got hit by a fly ball from our game, so I thought I'd try to help."

The girl bowed and smiled. "Thank you so much for helping her! I really appreciate it."

Heero nodded. "Sure, anytime."

"I'm Sasami," she said, "What's your name?"

"Heero Yuy," he replied, "Nice to meet you."

Sasami looked down at the bump on Ryo-Ohki's head. "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"She'll be fine," said Heero, "Just try to keep her away from baseball fields for awhile… or anywhere else with flying balls, for that matter."

Sasami nodded before turning to her pet. "You hear that, Ryo-Ohki? You're going to be just fine! Say thanks to Heero now, okay?"

The creature gave Heero a smile. "Meow! Meow!"

Heero nodded. "You're welcome."

"You were really lucky to have a guy as nice as Heero come along," Sasami told her pet, "You need to be more careful."

"What are you two doing out here, anyway?" asked Heero, "I've never seen you at this school before."

"Oh, I was just looking for Ryo-Ohki," said Sasami, "She likes to explore."

"Yo, Heero!" called one of his fellow students, "You still alive back there? Did you find the ball?"

Heero sighed before replying. "Yeah, I got it. I'll be out in a second!"

He turned back to the girl. "Sorry, but I've got to go. You should probably get moving too; you don't want to be out here while our game's still going. Your little friend could take another hit to the head if you stay here."

Sasami nodded and smiled. "All right. Thanks again, Heero!"

"Sure," he replied before running off toward the field.

 _Well, that was unusual_ , he thought, _The girl seems nice enough, but if she's the last curveball this day throws at me I'll very grateful for that…_

….

Sasami continued to smile as she watched the young man run off to rejoin his fellow students. She'd been a little worried when she'd seen him find Ryo-Ohki, but it turned out that he was actually a very nice person. In fact, she found herself wishing that he didn't have to leave her so soon; she would very much have liked to spend more time with him.

 _He looks a little rough on the outside_ , she thought, _but he has a very gentle heart. I hope I get to see him again…_

"Sorry, Sasami," said a familiar voice, "I got myself lost again. Sasami? Sasami…"

Sasami looked down at Ryo-Ohki. "Shh! You have to be careful, okay? You can't talk unless we know that there's no one else around! We're not in the Magic Kingdom now, after all. If someone in this world hears you then there could be trouble!"

Ryo-Ohki nodded. "I know, I know. Now, let's go home to the Magic Kingdom, okay?"

Sasami blushed as she thought about Heero again. "Well… actually, I'd kind of like to stay here for a while."

Ryo-Ohki's eyes widened. "What? Why's that?"

Sasami smiled. "It's… kind of hard to explain."

 _Why do I feel this way?_ , she thought, _I only just met him today, but I don't want to leave here until I see him again…_

 _After all, there's no one like him in the place that I'm from._

….

The school's dismissal bell rang, but Sasami paid it no mind. Perched high up on the roof of the school, she watched as the late afternoon sun slowly crept downward in the sky. It was a very pretty sight, and she was glad that she had picked this spot to spend the rest of the day with Ryo-Ohki while she waited for Heero to finish up his classes.

"Come on, Sasami," said Ryo-Ohki, "How much longer are we going to sit up here? The view's nice, but I'm starting to get hungry and you're out of snacks."

"Just a little while longer," said Sasami.

Ryo-Ohki looked puzzled. "You know, you still haven't told me why you're not ready to go home yet. Are you doing okay?"

Sasami smiled. "I'm fine, silly. I just… I wanted to make a new friend today."

Ryo-Ohki smiled. "You mean Heero, don't you?"

Sasami blushed slightly. "Yeah…"

"He seems like a nice person," said Ryo-Ohki, "but Sasami, you need to think this through. What if he finds out about who you really are? Your mother and father won't be happy about that."

Sasami shook his head. "It won't be like that. I'm not going to tell him about the Magic Kingdom or anything else that we're supposed to keep secret. I just want to get to know him a little more, that's all."

"But what if he's busy?" asked Ryo-Ohki, "He is a student, after all; he's probably got homework he'll have to do later."

Sasami smiled again. "It's okay. I won't take up too much of his time."

"All right," said Ryo-Ohki before looking over the edge of the building, "Well, good luck finding him in the crowd."

Sasami followed her companion's gaze. The students were starting to file out of the building now, and there were quite a few of them. Sasami was a little worried; she liked to think that she could recall Heero's features perfectly, but it would be difficult to pick out someone she had just met amidst the throngs of students pouring out of the school. Although, if she was being honest, the encounter amid the trees was actually not the first time she had seen him; she had actually spotted him by chance when he was on his way to school that morning. Heero had been unaware of her presence, but it had been pretty hard for Sasami to miss him. In fact, she had secretly been hoping for the chance to properly introduce herself to him throughout the day, with the encounter in the trees being her only opportunity to do so.

 _I wonder if those two girls will be with him again_ , she thought as she scanned the crowd, _I hope they don't mind that I want to spend some time with him._

She sighed as the student's continued to pour out of the building; there was still no sign of the one she was looking for. "Gee, I wonder where Heero is, Ryo-Ohki…"

"We shouldn't spend too much time up here looking for him," said Ryo-Ohki, "If someone looks up here and sees us, it could cause trouble."

Sasami continued to search the crowd. "Now, where is he?"

"Sasami, are you even listening to me?" asked Ryo-Ohki.

Sasami's eyes lit up as she found the young man she was searching for. "Aha! There he is!"

Heero had just walked out of the front door. His bag was slung over his shoulder, and he seemed to be relaxed and relieved that class was finally over for the day. The two girls that Sasami had seen with him earlier that morning were nowhere in sight.

 _Now's my chance_ , she thought, _I have to get down there right away!_

However, before she could move she spotted what could potentially be trouble. Waiting at the front gate of the school was the Student Committee Chairwoman. Sasami couldn't believe that she hadn't spotted her earlier; the girl must've come out with the initial crowd before taking up position by the gate.

"Hello, Heero!" she heard Ayeka say, "Would… would you like to walk home with me today?"

Heero nodded. "Sure, why not?"

 _Uh oh_ , thought Sasami, _How am I supposed to get close to him when she's with him? What should I do?_

To make matters worse, Sasami saw another girl approach Heero. It was Ryoko, and from the look on her face she seemed to be taking issue with Ayeka's plans to have Heero walk her home.

"Wait just a minute!" said Ryoko, her hands on her hips, "Heero, you promised that you would walk home with _me_ today!"

Ayeka's eyes widened. "What? That cannot be true!"

Before Ayeka could react, Ryoko had put her arm around Heero. "Don't you remember, Heero? We promised to watch the night lights of the Grand Bridge of Seto together… and then spend the rest of the night together until morning. _Remember_ , Heero?"

"No, I really don't," Heero replied.

Ayeka scowled and clenched her fist. "Oh, you are the absolute worst, Ryoko! A delinquent through and through!"

Sasami gasped as she saw Ayeka lunge forward, pushing Ryoko and grabbing Heero. "Go away, you foul tramp! Shoo, shoo!"

Ryoko glared at her. "Why don't _you_ take a hike?"

She then smiled and grabbed Heero, pulling him towards her. "Heero is _mine_ tonight! Isn't that right, Heero?"

"I don't recall agreeing to this," Heero quipped dryly.

Ayeka grabbed Heero's arm and pulled him towards her. "I will not stand for this!"

"Too bad, you're gonna have to!" snarled Ryoko as she fought back.

Sasami was horrified to see Heero become the object of their game of tug-of-war. Her new friend didn't exactly seem thrilled at the situation either.

"Cut it out, both of you," he said, "You're both better than this."

Ayeka and Ryoko scowled at each other. Neither seemed to be heeding his words, and Sasami feared that Heero could be seriously hurt if this continued much longer.

She then smiled as she saw two teachers approaching, saving her from having to interfere. Sasami was sure that they would be able to break up the fight, and once that was done she could approach Heero.

"Good grief," said the first teacher with a sigh, a woman with dark blue-green hair, "Really? Right when school gets out? Why now? Why can't they just go home like normal students? I don't want to deal with this."

"Come on, Kiyone," said her companion, a blonde woman with dark skin, "We have to stop them!"

Kiyone sighed. "You're right, Mihoshi. All right; let's do this."

They both stepped forward, with Kiyone taking the lead. "All right, you two, that's enough."

"Let Heero go right now," said Mihoshi.

"I'd expect behavior like this from you, Ryoko," said Kiyone, "but you too, Ayeka? You're the Student Committee Chairwoman. This behavior's absolutely disgraceful for a young lady of your position!"

"I believe in eliminating the source of that disgrace here and now!" replied Ayeka as she glared at Ryoko.

"You're one to talk," quipped Ryoko.

"Ryoko, I shall not surrender Heero to you!" Ayeka declared, "A tramp such as yourself has no right to him. You bring dishonor to the entire school! As Student Committee Chairwoman, it is my solemn duty to protect Heero from your indecency!"

"I can take care of myself," said Heero dryly, "Not that anyone seems to be asking me if I'm capable of that at the moment."

"That's bull!" snapped Ryoko, "I think it's _my_ duty to save Heero from an uptight brat like you!"

"All right, now," said Kiyone as she came up behind Ryoko and grabbed her by the shoulders, "That's enough, Ryoko!"

Ryoko scowled at the teacher. "What did you say?"

"Now, calm down, Ayeka!" pleaded Mihoshi, "That's enough! You have to let go of Heero right now!"

"Not a chance!" Ayeka snarled.

The two girls only pulled harder on Heero in response to the teachers trying to calm them down. The young man looked to be holding up all right, but Sasami was still afraid that he was going to get hurt if this kept up.

"This isn't good…" she said softly.

"He seems to be involved in a fight between those two girls," said Ryo-Ohki, "I hope he's okay…"

"What should we do, Ryo-Ohki?" asked Sasami.

"Well," said Ryo-Ohki, "normally I'd say we should let the teachers handle it, but I don't think they're having any luck down there. We can't let this go on any longer. I don't know Heero very well, but he was nice to me, so I don't want to see him get hurt."

Sasami nodded. "I agree."

Ryo-Ohki smiled. "Well, there's only one thing left to do. Sasami, transform into Pretty Sammy!"

Sasami grinned; she'd been hoping that her furry companion would say that. "Okay, then! Here we go!"

She pulled out an ornate golden baton with a heart at the top and spun around. " _Jugem, jugem, gokoh-no-surikire… here comes Pretty Sammy!_ "

A bring light engulfed her as she transformed into her true form. Large crimson beads appeared at the base of her long twin-tails, while her clothes magically turned into a red, white and pink sailor uniform.

"All right!" she cried, "The magical girl Pretty Sammy is here to save the day!"

The crowd below had remained completely oblivious to her transformation; they were all still focused on the fight between Ayeka and Ryoko. Dozens of students had gathered around to observe the spectacle, and while Sasami would've preferred to avoid performing her magic before so many witnesses she had no choice in the matter. She was determined to save Heero no matter what she had to do.

The two teachers certainly weren't going to do anything to help the young man. In fact, they seemed to have given up trying altogether.

"Oh, my!" said Mihoshi, "We seem to have drawn quite a crowd, haven't we, Kiyone?"

Kiyone groaned. "This is growing more disgraceful by the second! What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"Leave it all to me!" cried Sasami, finally getting the crowd's attention.

She saw Heero look up at her, and she had to fight to keep from blushing as she saw his eyes widen in shock at her appearance. Sasami hoped that she would get the chance to explain things to him very soon; she was throwing all caution to the wind here.

"Fighting is no good at all!" she proclaimed, "Be friends and be cheerful, all of you! That is the first step to making peace with each other! Pretty Sammy's always with a smile on her face, and you should be, too!"

"Who's this weirdo?" asked Ryoko.

"Why is she dressed like that?" asked Ayeka, "And why in the name of the Heavens is she standing up there? Does she not know how incredibly dangerous that is?"

Ryoko smirked at her rival. "She's not as crazy as you are!"

Ayeka scowled at her. "What did you say?"

"Wait just once second," Sasami continued, "and I'll make you two friends in no time!"

The two girls went right back to fighting each other, completely ignoring Sasami again. That was fine with her; she knew they were past the point of words convincing them to mend their ways, which was why she was bringing out the heavy artillery.

"Prepare Pretty Archery!" she cried as she spun her baton.

There was a flash of light at the top of her baton as she held it out in front of her. Two golden prongs sprung forth, along with a string, turning her baton into a magical bow.

" _Jugem, jugem, gokoh-no-surikire_ ," she chanted, "Be friends, you two!"

She pulled back on the string and let loose. Two bolts of pink energy flew forth from the bow and raced towards the girls. Since their attention was so focused on each other and Heero they were completely oblivious to what was racing their way, and Sasami's shots easily found their mark.

There was a brilliant flash of light as the pink bolts pierced Ayeka and Ryoko. The gathered teachers and students shielded their eyes while Ayeka and Ryoko collapsed to the ground right on top of Heero. This wasn't quite what Sasami had been going for, but she wasn't afraid; as soon as the magic began to take effect on the girls, Heero would be safe.

"Ryoko! Ayeka!" cried Mihoshi.

"Are you two okay?" asked Kiyone.

Ayeka and Ryoko shook their heads, and from the looks on their faces Sasami knew that her power was working. It would just be a few more seconds before the results became apparent to everyone else.

"Oh… what is this feeling?" gasped Ayeka, "My heart… it's absolutely pounding!"

"Ayeka…" said Ryoko, her voice so soft that Sasami almost couldn't hear it, "I… I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I… I was so cruel to you."

Ayeka smiled and leaned forward, gently taking Ryoko's hands. "No… it's all right. I'm the one who should be sorry, Ryoko. I cannot believe the way I was acting towards you earlier. You didn't deserve that."

Ryoko smiled too. "I feel the same way. I don't know why I was treating you like that. You see, the truth is… I've always been fond of you. I just could never say that to your face for some reason."

Ayeka's face turned beat red. "What? Is that true, Ryoko?"

Ryoko sighed. "Yeah, but… well, you only seemed to care about Heero. I… I got so jealous that I felt I had to throw myself between you two just to get your attention! I acted so shamefully… can you forgive me?"

"Ryoko…" said Ayeka, not bothered in the least by the fact that she was blushing, "Of course I can. I only ask that you forgive my earlier conduct as well. Please?"

Ryoko put her hands on Ayeka's shoulder. "I do, Ayeka."

The crowd looked on in stunned silence as the girls embraced. Sasami smiled as she looked down on it all. It was yet another job well done for Pretty Sammy. Of course, that didn't change the fact that Heero was still trapped underneath Ayeka and Ryoko, but Sasami was confident that the two of them would rectify the situation soon.

"Please," said Ayeka as they held each other, "don't let me go. Not ever."

Ryoko sighed. "You're a real sweetheart, you know that?"

"Uhm, did I miss something here?" asked Kiyone.

"This is getting weird," said Mihoshi, "Are you two okay?"

"I don't know what's going on," said Heero dryly, "but whatever they're doing, can they take it to a room or something? My back's starting to go numb."

"Ahh," said Ryoko blissfully, "So this is what they call true happiness! It's so nice."

"Hold me tight!" cried Ayeka.

"We are blurring some lines here, aren't we?" asked Kiyone, "I'm not sure that this is developing into an appropriate relationship here…"

"They look so happy now!" chirped Mihoshi, "Maybe they won't fight anymore!"

"Seriously," groaned Heero, "My back…"

"Hmm," murmured Sasami, "Maybe I overdid it a little…"

"No, you didn't," said Ryo-Ohki, "They'll be good friends from now on, Sasami, and it's all thanks to you!"

Sasami smiled. "You're right, Ryo-Ohki!"

"I love you, Ayeka," said Ryoko, looking longingly at her former rival.

"I'm so happy to hear you say that, Ryoko," Ayeka replied.

"And _there_!" said a familiar voice before the whole scene froze.

At the edge of her vision, Sasami saw Washu fiddling with the Dimension Turner. The scientist had a smile on her face as she adjusted the device.

"All right," she said, "That's another world closed off. I think I'm getting better at this; that didn't take nearly as long as the last one did."

"Aw, Washu, why now?" Sasami pouted, "It was just getting good!"

Washu chuckled before nodding at the others down below. "I don't think they would agree with you on that, kid."

Indeed, Sasami could see that Ayeka and Ryoko were not particularly happy about the situation they were in now. Since Washu had frozen Sasami's world, the two of them were stuck in their embrace, and from the looks on their faces Sasami was sure that if they were capable of movement at the moment they would immediately start fighting.

"What the hell?" growled Ryoko, "Washu, whose world was this? What the hell's wrong with them?"

"How in the name of Tsunami did we wind up like this?" cried Ayeka, "This… this is utterly mortifying!"

"I think it's kind of cute," said Mihoshi, "You two really do need to try to get along better, you know?"

"Not like this!" Ayeka and Ryoko barked together.

"Whoever made this world has some very strange ideas about the two of you," said Kiyone.

 _Maybe I'll keep quiet about this one_ , Sasami thought, _I really don't want them to know that this is my world if they're this angry about it…_

"Whose world this is doesn't matter right now," said Heero, "Washu, please tell me we're moving along to the next one now. Seriously, my back could use the reprieve."

"It'll be just another minute," said Washu as she adjusted the Dimension Turner.

"I don't care where we go next," grumbled Ryoko, " _Any_ world has to be better than _this_ one."

"For once, you and I are in agreement," said Ayeka.

"How many more worlds do we have to go through?" asked Mihoshi.

"This was number three, I think," said Kiyone, "Which means we still have three more to go."

"You got that right!" cried Washu as a bright light began to emanate from the Dimension Turner and the world began to spin, "And here comes the next one!"

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Ryoko: Man, I'm glad that one's over._

 _Ayeka: Indeed. Let us never speak of that last world again._

 _Mihoshi: Aw, what's wrong, you two? I think it was fun!_

 _Kiyone: Not the word I'd use for it._

 _Sasami: So what's up next, Washu?_

 _Washu: Well, we've still got three worlds to go; Mihoshi's, Ryoko's, and Heero's. At this point it's anyone's guess, kid!_

 _Heero: This ride can't end soon enough._

 _Ryoko: Don't be like that, Heero! Trust me, you're going to love the world I've got planned for us!_

 _Mihoshi: Hey, don't hog all the fun, Ryoko!_

 _Ayeka: I am curious; what sort of world did you come up with, Sir Heero?_

 _Kiyone: That one should definitely be interesting._

 _Sasami: Well, we'll find out soon enough! Next time, in Chapter Eleven: No Need For Time And Space Adventures, Part Two!_

 _Washu: It's almost time…_

 _Heero: Time for what?_

 _Washu: For what I_ really _wanted to find out with this machine!_

 **Author's Notes:** All right, glad that one's finally finished! Again, sorry for the delay on this one, I know it's been a while since the last update.

Hope you liked the chapter. Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes:** Hey there, it's been quite some time! I'm sorry about the delay, this chapter took much longer than I thought it would to finish. If you're a fan of classic sword-fighting anime, then Heero's dream world will have a few treats in store for you!

Enjoy!

 **Chapter Eleven: No Need For Time And Space Adventures, Part Two!**

 _Azaka: Ah, welcome back!_

 _Kamidake: Our apologies for the interlude. Please, allow us to make up for lost time!_

 _Azaka: When we last left our merry band, they had just completed their journey through three dream worlds created by Washu's Dimension Turner._

 _Kamidake: The worlds in question were the ones created by Ayeka, Kiyone, and Sasami._

 _Azaka: Each world was unique, and each revealed much about the person that created it._

 _Kamidake: As fun as those adventures were, there are still three more dream worlds to go!_

 _Azaka: Yes, and the creators of those worlds are Mihoshi, Ryoko, and Heero._

 _Kamidake: What sort of worlds did they create? What adventures shall our friends have in them today?_

 _Azaka: Without further adieu, let us find out._

 _Azaka and Kamidake: We hope you enjoy the show!_

….

The morning sun was high in the sky as Mihoshi opened the front door. She smiled as a pleasant breeze met her; she just knew that today was going to be a good day.

"You're ahead of me again," said a familiar male voice from behind her, "You're getting better at that every day."

She turned around, her smile growing larger as she saw Heero walking down the hallway towards the front door. He was dressed in dark brown suit, and Mihoshi loved how he looked in it. It never got old, even though it was his regular work attire.

"Well, I've been trying to get up early so I can help you out more before leave each day," she said, "You work so hard, so it's only right that I do the same."

Heero gave her a small smile as he shook his head. "I appreciate that, but you don't have to act like a domestic servant. You can sleep in a little; I really don't mind."

"It's fine, really!" Mihoshi chirped, "I can always sleep in with you on the weekends!"

Heero chuckled. "That's something I always look forward to. Well, I'd better get moving. Take care, Mihoshi."

"Oh, honey, wait!" cried Mihoshi as she rushed forward, "Your tie's crooked again!"

Heero looked down as she adjusted it for him. "So it is. Thanks."

Mihoshi smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Have a good day at the office! Don't work too hard, okay?"

"No promises," said Heero as he headed off, "Try to stay out of trouble, all right? If you hurt yourself, don't hesitate to call me."

"Okay!" called Mihoshi, "I'll see you later tonight!"

She sighed as he disappeared around the corner. She was proud that he worked so hard to provide for their family, but at the same time she wished that he could find a way to do more of his work from home. Perhaps that would be something that she could talk about with him when he returned in the evening.

Mihoshi then turned back towards the house. "Sasami! It's time to go! You don't want to miss the school bus now, do you?"

"I'm coming!" her daughter cried as she hurried out the door, slipping on her backpack and fixing her hair while trying not to stumble.

Mihoshi smiled. "Do you have everything you need?"

Sasami nodded. "Yup. Oh, Mom? Please don't forget to feed Ryo-Ohki, okay?"

"Don't worry," Mihoshi replied, "I'll take good care of her!"

"All right," said Sasami before taking off like a rocket, "I'd better get going! Love you, Mom!"

"I love you too, Sasami!" called Mihoshi, "Watch out for traffic on your way to the bus stop!"

"Okay!" cried Sasami before she disappeared around the corner.

Mihoshi sighed and smiled. She hoped her daughter would have a good day in class. From what all her teachers had told her, Sasami was a model student, so Mihoshi didn't think she had anything to worry about today.

Mihoshi yawned as she headed back inside. The day was young, and there were still quite a few things left on her to-do list.

As she entered the kitchen she saw Ayeka at the table eating breakfast. "Oh, it's the old maid of the house."

Ayeka scowled. "Are you calling _me_ an old maid?"

Mihoshi laughed. "Ah, sorry! You're up early today, I see."

Ayeka sighed. "Yes, yes. I'm the nagging sister-in-law, I know. The reason I'm up early is because I am responsible for keeping this house running."

She then raised her bowl and took a sip, only to wince. "Ugh! Too salty! What is the deal with this miso soup?"

Mihoshi sighed. "I'm sorry."

"If you were someone that I could count on," said Ayeka, "I would not hesitate to get married myself and leave this household in your care. Look at you. I bet you're planning on just sitting around and spacing out all day, aren't you?"

Mihoshi shook her head. "No, I promise I'm not."

Ayeka sighed before turning back to her plate. "We'll see."

Her eyes then narrowed as she examined one particular bit of food. "What is _this_?"

Mihoshi smiled. "Well, that's a croquette, sis."

"You call this lump of charcoal a croquette?" cried Ayeka.

Mihoshi sighed again. "I'm really sorry."

Ayeka rolled her eyes before taking a bite. "You just can't get anything right, can you?"

She then grimaced and looked like she was about to hurl. "Oh, dear… there was _definitely_ something not right about that croquette…"

Mihoshi shook her head. This was going to be a long day.

….

"Goodness," said Ayeka as Mihoshi vacuumed the living room, "Could you go any slower? You don't have to spend the whole day cleaning just one room."

Mihoshi smiled. "Sorry."

Ayeka sighed. "Well, at least _some_ cleaning will be done today."

She then walked over to the sliding door and ran her finger along the wooden frame. Her eyes narrowed, and Mihoshi winced as she tried to think of what Ayeka had found to complain about this time.

"Oh, Mihoshi?" said Ayeka, holding up her finger, "What do you suppose this is?"

Mihoshi leaned in and saw that the tip of her finger was covered in a layer of grey-brown grime. "Uhm… dust?"

"Yes," said Ayeka, "Dust. How long do you think this has been accumulating?"

"Don't worry!" chirped Mihoshi as she rushed off to get a washcloth, "I'll take care of it."

The next hour or so roughly consisted of Ayeka pointing out new patches of dust and clutter in the living room, with Mihoshi rushing to take care of them as fast as she could. Her sister-in-law could be a brutal taskmaster sometimes, but Mihoshi went along with it because the faster she finished the cleaning the more time she would have to relax until Heero came home.

After the living room, it was time to do the laundry. As Mihoshi came downstairs with a basket filled well past the rim with clothes, she saw Ayeka standing at the bottom of the staircase with her arms folded.

"Oh, dear," said Ayeka, "When was the last time you did the laundry?"

"I'm doing it now," replied Mihoshi, "Isn't that what matters?"

Ayeka sighed. "How many times have I told you that you have to do it more often? Otherwise it'll just keep piling up like that."

"I know, I know," said Mihoshi as she dumped it all in the washer and fetched the detergent.

"Ah, not so much!" cried Ayeka as Mihoshi began pouring it into the machine, "You mustn't waste it like that. It's better for your household finances if you measure it precisely. That way you'll restock less frequently and save money."

Mihoshi smiled as she started the machine. "Right. I'll be more careful!"

….

"Are you sure about this, sis?" asked Mihoshi as the two of them huffed hefty black plastic bags down the street, "Today's not our trash day!"

Ayeka's eyes narrowed and Mihoshi was scared by the devious light in them. "It's not a problem as long as we don't get caught. By sneaking in our garbage with that of the neighbors, we can take out more trash for the same price that we currently pay to the city."

"I still have a bad feeling about this," said Mihoshi nervously as they approached the trash cans.

"It will be fine," Ayeka replied, "People do this all the time. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if our neighbors snuck their extra garbage in with ours on our trash day!"

Mihoshi sighed. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"I most certainly do," said Ayeka as she looked around the corner, "It seems the coast is clear. Now's our chance!"

The two ladies sprinted for the cans, and Mihoshi was amazed at how fast Ayeka could run while still hauling two trash bags. It was all Mihoshi could do to keep up, and she was breathing very heavily by the time she got to the neighbors' garbage cans.

"Quickly now!" hissed Ayeka, her bag already dropped in the can.

Mihoshi hefted hers up, but it got caught on the edge of the can. Before she realized what had happened the bag ripped open and spilled it contents all over the street.

Ayeka's face paled. "Oh, you _cannot_ be serious!"

"I'm really sorry…" said Mihoshi as she hung her head in embarrassment.

"Hey!" yelled one of the neighbors, "What was that?"

"Oh, no…" Mihoshi muttered.

"Crap!" hissed Ayeka as she grabbed Mihoshi's hand, "Don't just stand there! Run!"

 _Oh, dear_ , thought Mihoshi as Ayeka practically dragged her back to her house, _I'm not sure how much more of this day I can take…_

….

Sliding a plate across the floor, Mihoshi smiled as it came to a stop in front of Ryo-Ohki. "There you are, little girl! Eat up!"

"Meow!" the adorable furball cried before digging into her food.

Mihoshi sighed as she watched the household pet chow down. She wished that she could be as simple and carefree as Sasami's furry friend.

An odd thought struck her mind. "Hmm, Ryo-Ohki… that's a pretty strange name for a cat. I wonder who came up with it… oh, well."

"Meow!" replied Ryo-Ohki, although Mihoshi had no idea if the creature was actually listening to her or just enjoying her food.

Mihoshi giggled. "I think something like 'Whiskers' is a better name for a cat. Then again, you don't look like a regular, cat do you, Ryo-Ohki? Maybe that's why 'Ryo-Ohki' works for you; it's an odd name for an odd cat!"

She glanced to the side where she saw Ayeka hunched over the kitchen counter. Her brow was furrowed intently as she studied a page of coupons and advertisements in the local newspaper.

Ayeka gasped as she zeroed in on one particular item. "My goodness! Mihoshi, come look at this! This says that there's a half-off meat sale today!"

"Oh, really?" she replied, not seeing why Ayeka was getting so excited about it.

Ayeka held up the page and pointed to the advertisement in question. "Yes! It says so right here!"

There was a fierce light in her eyes, and Mihoshi couldn't help but shudder. She had a feeling she knew where this was going…

….

The supermarket was nothing short of a warzone. News of the meat sale had gone far and wide, and to Mihoshi it seemed like every stay-at-home mom in town was at the market today, jostling for position as they all tried to get their hands on that precious commodity before it went back to full price.

"Excuse me!" cried Mihoshi as she tried to work her way through the crowd, "I'll take five hundred grams of roast beef… wait, I mean pork!"

"And three hundred grams of diced meat!" called Ayeka.

"Hold on, you two!" yelled another customer, "That's mine!"

Mihoshi smiled. "There's plenty for everyone… right?"

Ayeka shook her head. "At this rate, they'll be all out in no time. Mihoshi, we must take drastic steps to ensure that we get our meat!"

Mihoshi was shocked to see her sister-in-law charge forward, elbowing her way through the crowd. "Out of my way! Mihoshi, follow me!"

"Oh, dear," she said nervously.

Nevertheless, she stayed right behind Ayeka, and the two of them were able to work their way through the crowd. However, Mihoshi could not fail to notice how Ayeka grew increasingly more aggressive the closer they got to the counter, and she feared that if this kept up then things would really get out of hand.

Sure enough, in her mad charge to make it to the counter, Ayeka was starting to piss people off. The last straw came when she attempted to shove a rather hefty woman to the side, only for her to turn towards Ayeka and push right back.

"Wait your turn, lady!" she growled.

Ayeka scowled and clenched her fists. "Not a chance! That meat is mine!"

Mihoshi's eyes widened as Ayeka shoved the woman again, only for her target to push right back again. The two women glared at each other, and Mihoshi feared what might come next.

"Mihoshi!" said Ayeka, "Go on ahead! I will keep this beast at bay!"

"Who are you calling a beast, you hag?" snarled her rival.

"Ayeka, this isn't a good idea…" Mihoshi weakly protested.

"Go!" snapped Ayeka, "I shall hold her back! I only ask that you save some meat for me at supper tonight!"

Before Mihoshi could stop her, Ayeka threw herself at her foe, fists flying. Her opponent readily returned the favor, and before Mihoshi knew what was happening the two women were engaged in a ferocious bare-knuckle brawl.

"Mihoshi, go!" shouted Ayeka as she punched the woman in the face, "Now!"

Mihoshi nodded. "O…okay! Good luck!"

 _How in the world did I get caught up in this?_

….

"That was a nightmare," Mihoshi sighed.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," said Ayeka, "We got what we went there for, and that's all that matters."

Mihoshi shook her head. "I really don't think that we had to start a fight to get what we wanted. For goodness sake, you've got a black eye, Ayeka!"

Ayeka smiled. "Consider this temporary blemish a sign of my determination to make sure your household gets the most bang for its buck! You should be honored by my sacrifice, Mihoshi!"

Mihoshi looked down at the bags of meat she was carrying. "Well, I suppose we did get a great deal. This'll last us for quite a while!"

Ayeka nodded, grinning in vindication despite the bruising she'd taken at the hands of her opponent. "Exactly! Not only can you use this for meals at the house and for Sasami's school lunches, but you can take the money that you saved here and put it towards that new dining set I showed you earlier."

"I don't know," said Mihoshi, "I mean, Heero seems happy with the one we have right now. I don't think we need a new one."

Ayeka shook her head. "For goodness sake, Mihoshi! Of course Heero won't raise any complaints about the dining set; it's not in his character. However, that does not change the fact that upgrading it will do wonders for your evening table. It would be a crime to pass an opportunity like this up!"

Mihoshi smiled. "I'll think about it. For now, I'm just glad we were able to get out of that store in one piece. The manager looked really angry!"

Ayeka sighed. "Yes, I suppose we'll have to steer clear of that particular store for a while. Not to worry; there are three other markets in our vicinity that we can stop by at any time!"

"We should try to avoid starting another fight if we go to one of them," said Mihoshi.

Ayeka folded her arms. "If there's another prime sale on then I will do what I must to ensure that we get the most out of it. If that means throwing a few punches, then so be it!"

Mihoshi laughed nervously; her sister-in-law could get pretty scary when she had her sights set on a bargain. "If you say so…"

 _I just want to make it home in one piece_ , she thought wearily, _I'll be happy if we're just able to do that…_

She then looked around, realizing what part of town they were in. "Hey, Ayeka?"

"What is it?" she asked.

Mihoshi smiled. "Do you think it would be all right if I called Kiyone? We're close to where she works, so…"

Ayeka sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, I suppose so. She must be close to her lunch break by now. Go ahead and see if she wants to meet up with you; I'll take the groceries home."

"Are you sure?" asked Mihoshi, "You can come with me if you want!"

Ayeka shook her head as she grabbed the bags Mihoshi was holding. "No, I'm afraid that simply won't do. We have to get this meat home and in the fridge at once. I expect you to come home as soon as Kiyone's break is over, all right? We still have some cleaning to do around the house, and I do not intend to put it off!"

Mihoshi nodded. "Don't worry, I'll come back as soon as we're done. Thanks, sis!"

As Ayeka walked off Mihoshi pulled out her phone. She could barely contain her excitement as she dialed Kiyone; it had been a while since they'd last been able to get together.

 _This is going to be so much fun!_

….

Kiyone sighed as she typed away at her computer. "Man, I'm bored. This is why I hate desk jobs."

She looked out the window wistfully. It was a beautiful day outside, and here she was stuck in the office. Yes, it was important for her to keep working and earn a paycheck, but sometimes she felt like she was missing out on life.

 _I wonder how the old crowd's doing_ , she mused, _I bet they're having fun… especially Mihoshi._

Kiyone shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about old friends. She had several forms she had to get through and not much time to do it before her lunch break came along. She would have to pick up the pace if she wanted to get everything done on schedule.

It was at that moment her desk phone rang, which was an interruption she really didn't need at the moment. Shaking her head in frustration, she picked up the phone.

"This is Kiyone Makibi," she said, "How can I help you?"

"Hello, Kiyone!" chirped a familiar female voice.

 _Speak of the devil_ , she thought, her eyes widening, _it's her…_

"Hi, Mihoshi," she said cautiously, "Why are you calling me at work?"

"Well, I'm in the area," Mihoshi replied, "Did you want to get something to eat? It's been a while since we've had lunch together!"

Kiyone sighed as she checked the clock. If she did a rush job on the forms she figured she should be able to make her lunch break on time, although there was always the chance that she might mess something up and get in trouble later.

"All right," she said after a moment, "How about the café across the street from my office?"

"Great!" Mihoshi cheered, "You're the best, Kiyone!"

Kiyone shook her head. "Look, just be there on-time, okay? I won't have all day."

"Don't worry!" Mihoshi chirped, "See you soon!"

Kiyone groaned as she hung up the phone. Why had she decided to humor Mihoshi like that? If she took her lunch at her desk she'd have time to get the forms done and make sure that they'd been filled out correctly. Instead she'd pretty much screwed herself over just so she could meet a friend.

 _I'm way too nice to her_ , she thought as she returned her focus to the screen, _Well, I guess it's too late to back out now…_

….

"Yay!" cheered Mihoshi as the waitress brought over her ice cream sundae, "Thank you so much!"

Across the table from her, Kiyone smiled as she took a bite out of her sandwich. "You really haven't changed, have you Mihoshi? I remember the first time we hung out and you got one of those. You were as giddy back then as you are now."

Mihoshi grinned. "I can't help it. I love these!"

She dug right in, but in her enthusiasm she wound up taking too much on her first bite and immediately paid the price. "Ouch! Brain freeze!

Kiyone shook her head. "You never learn, do you?"

Mihoshi smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess not. So, how've you been?"

"I'm doing all right," Kiyone replied, "Things have been busy at the office lately. How about you? Are things good with you and Heero?"

Mihoshi nodded. "Oh, yes! He's been doing so well at work that his bosses gave him another bonus recently. Now we can buy Sasami that new bike she's been looking at for her birthday!"

Kiyone smiled. "That's great! Is she doing well in school?"

"Yeah," said Mihoshi, "We wouldn't be giving her the bike otherwise!"

"That's good," Kiyone replied, "How about you and Heero's sister? Is everything good with you and Ayeka?"

Mihoshi sighed. "No, not really. My sister-in-law is such a nit-picker. She's always finding something that I'm doing wrong and yelling at me for it! She does it all day long. When I ask her what's the matter, she always says stuff like 'What was that croquette you served this morning? It tasted like charcoal.' Kiyone, sometimes I really can't stand her. Nothing makes her happy!"

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "You didn't call me here just to complain about her, did you? You know, I've got a ton of work I still need to get done back at the office."

Mihoshi smiled. "But you don't need to go back right away, right? Come on, Kiyone, when was the last time we got a meal together like this? It's good hang out on your lunch with someone instead of eating alone!"

Kiyone sighed. "For your information, it hasn't been _that_ long since we last saw each other. It was a couple weeks at the most!"

Mihoshi's eyes widened. "Really? It felt like so much longer than that."

Kiyone shook her head. "Not really. Besides, ever since you and Heero got married you always end up telling me the same story. It's always about you and him, and then about Sasami, and then Ayeka! It tends to blend together after a while, you know?"

Mihoshi smiled again. "You know, it's not good for you to be frustrated like this, Kiyone. Why don't you find someone and get married, Kiyone? I think that'd cheer you up!"

Kiyone blushed and scowled. "That's none of your business!"

"Aw, why not?" pouted Mihoshi, "We're friends, aren't we? I want you to be happy, Kiyone!"

Kiyone shook her head. "I appreciate that, but I don't need to get married just to find happiness."

"Are you sure?" asked Mihoshi, "You know, I could ask Heero if any of his friends at the office are single. I've been in there with him a few times, and he has some handsome coworkers. What do you say?"

Kiyone folded her arms and looked away, but Mihoshi couldn't help but notice that she was still blushing. "No! I don't need you to arrange a date for me, Mihoshi!"

Mihoshi nodded. "Okay. If you ever change your mind, though…"

"I said no!" Kiyone snapped, "Now can we _please_ talk about something else?"

Mihoshi grinned. "Sure! Oh, how about my sister-in-law?"

Kiyone groaned. "Again? Oh, why not?"

 _Ah_ , Mihoshi thought, _I knew meeting Kiyone like this was the right call. This is so much fun!_

….

Late afternoon was slowly shifting to early evening as Mihoshi finally walked through the front door of her home. She'd wound up staying downtown longer than she had originally planned; once Kiyone had gone back to work Mihoshi had travelled to a few different stores to run some minor errands. On her walk home she had been laden with cleaning supplies and other groceries, and it felt good to finally set the bags down.

"I'm home!" she called with a smile as she kicked off her shoes.

"Hi, Mom!" cried Sasami as she rushed down the stairs.

Mihoshi beamed as she hugged her daughter. "Hi there, Sasami! How was school today?"

"It was good," she replied, "I just finished my homework a little while ago. How come you weren't here when I got home?"

"Sorry about that," said Mihoshi, "I was running some errands and I lost track of time. Are you hungry?"

"A little," said Sasami, "Do you want me to help you make dinner tonight? You look a little tired."

Mihoshi sighed with relief; she could always count on her little girl to lend a hand. "That'd be nice, Sasami. Your father should be home soon, so why don't you get something started while I put these groceries away, okay?"

Sasami smiled. "Sure thing, Mom!"

Sasami rushed off to the kitchen while Mihoshi began unpacking everything. Like clockwork Ayeka came down the stairs, folding her arms when she saw Mihoshi.

"I'll say, it's about time you made it home," she said, "What on Earth delayed you?"

Mihoshi smiled. "I picked up some things we missed at the store earlier."

Ayeka peered closely, and Mihoshi was relieved to see her nod in approval. "Well, I suppose we do need these items. Very well; I'll take over from here, Mihoshi. You best go out back; I think the laundry's done drying, and you should bring it in before it gets dark out."

Mihoshi nodded. "Right. Thanks for the help, sis!"

She headed to the back yard and inspected the hanging laundry. Ayeka had been right; it was about as dry as it was going to get, so Mihoshi fetched a nearby basket and started collecting everything.

"All right," she said to herself, "I've just got to finish this up and it'll be easy going for the rest of the night. Sasami will have dinner ready, Heero will come home, and we can all spend the rest of the evening relaxing!"

"Hey there, Mihoshi!" called a familiar voice, "What's this I hear about Heero being home soon?"

Mihoshi smiled as she turned around and saw Ryoko standing on the street peering over the back yard's hedgerow. "Ryoko! How are you?"

"I'm good," said Ryoko, "except I'm all out of soy sauce. Could you spare me some?"

"Sure," said Mihoshi, "Just let me finish this up real quick and I'll go grab it for you!"

"Oh, no need for that," Ryoko replied, and before Mihoshi knew it her neighbor had jumped the hedgerow and was already at her back door, "I'll just find it myself!"

"Hey, hold on!" Mihoshi cried, rushing over and grabbing Ryoko's arm, "I didn't invite you inside, did I?"

Ryoko smiled. "Oh, don't mind me, Mihoshi! You've still got laundry to finish up. You'd better hop to it!"

"Ryoko," said Mihoshi nervously as her neighbor slid open the back door, "You can't just…"

"Aw, what's this?" Ryoko pouted as she looked around, "Heero's still not home yet? Well, that's a letdown!"

"He should be home any minute now," said Mihoshi, "but you didn't come here to see him anyway… right?"

Ryoko smirked. "Why else would I be here, Mihoshi?"

"You mentioned soy sauce earlier," she replied.

"Oh yeah, that," said Ryoko, "So, which way's the kitchen?"

Mihoshi was about to take the lead when she heard the front door open, followed by a familiar voice. "Finally back. Mihoshi? Sasami?"

Mihoshi smiled as she saw Heero down the hallway. "Heero! Welcome home!"

She moved forward to hug him, but unfortunately her neighbor beat her to it. "Heero, welcome back! It's so good to see you again!"

"Hello, Ryoko," said Heero as he awkwardly tried to free himself from her embrace.

"Heero," said Mihoshi as she moved between him and Ryoko before kissing him on the cheek, "How was your day?"

"Not too bad," he replied with a small smile, "I had a meeting that ran long, though. Sorry I couldn't make it home until now. How was your day?"

Mihoshi shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Mine was just fine. Thank you for asking, though. You're always so good about that!"

"Daddy!" cried Sasami as she came running out of the kitchen, "I missed you today!"

She threw herself at her father, who took her into a warm embrace. "I missed you too, Sasami. How was school today?"

"It was okay," Sasami replied, "By the way, dinner's almost ready!"

"Oh? You're cooking again tonight?" he said, "I'm looking forward to trying what you've made."

"Thanks!" chirped Sasami before rushing back to the kitchen, "I'll let you know when it's done!"

"Speaking of good food," said Ryoko with a smirk as she shoved Mihoshi aside before putting her arm around Heero, "I've got this friend in Atami that runs a beautiful bed and breakfast! What do you say, Heero? How about a nice little getaway there? It'll be just the two of us?"

"Cut it out!" cried Mihoshi as she pushed Ryoko away from Heero, "Stop trying to seduce my husband, Ryoko! For the hundredth time, it won't work!"

"Oh, you _must_ be joking," grumbled Ayeka as she joined in, "Ryoko, what in the world are you doing here?"

"What do you think, you hag?" Ryoko shot back, "I'm here to see Heero, of course!"

Ayeka scowled. " _Old hag_? Fine talk coming from a widow who lacks any sense of shame and propriety! It is most unpleasant to always find you flirting like this."

Ryoko chuckled. "Well, if you ask me, an old hag who's never been married is far more unpleasant than a girl like me. Don't you agree, Heero?"

Ayeka clenched her fists in barely-contained fury. "Your attitude is simply the worst, Ryoko! I demand that you apologize at once!"

Ryoko stuck out her tongue. "Bite me!"

"Ayeka, Ryoko, cut it out!" Mihoshi pleaded, "The two of you fight so loudly I be the whole neighborhood can hear you!"

Ryoko completely ignored her, instead choosing to run her hand down Heero's chest. "Heero, you really need to get out of here. Why don't you run away with me to Atami? You'll _love_ it there, I guarantee it."

"I'll pass," Heero replied, once again trying to free himself from her unwanted attention.

"Aw, come on, Heero!" Ryoko persisted, "You need _me_ , not the blonde ditz and your hag of a sister! Let's go! I'm sure everyone will be just fine with it!"

"We will not!" Mihoshi and Ayeka shouted together.

"Why's everyone fighting?" asked Sasami as she poked her head out of the kitchen, "You're going to spoil your appetite, and dinner's almost ready!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"And… _there_!" called a new yet familiar voice.

The world suddenly froze, and Mihoshi saw Washu appear seemingly from thin air in the middle of the hallway, the Dimension Turner in her arms. "All right, I think I'm getting the hang of finding the endpoints for all these worlds. It was a lot easier to find it this time around."

"Aw," pouted Mihoshi, "It's over already?"

"Darn it," said Ryoko, "It was just getting good!"

Suddenly Kiyone popped out of thin air to join them. "Whoa! What happened? Washu!"

"Hi, Kiyone!" chirped Washu with a smile, "Sorry about that; I wanted to make sure that we were all together before I completely closed off this world, so I had to teleport you. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I guess that's one of the perks of being able to bend space and time as I will. I'm a genius!"

"You are brilliant, Washu!" cried Washu-bot A as it appeared on her left shoulder.

"The greatest genius in the universe!" cried Washu-bot B as it sprung up on her right shoulder.

"Aw, shucks!" Washu replied with a blush, "You two are just too much, you know that?"

"Do save the congratulations until we have returned to the real world, if you please," said Ayeka.

"Do we really have to go?" asked Sasami, "I kind of liked that world."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"It was interesting," said Heero, "but it's probably best if we move along. Washu, how many more worlds are left?"

"Two more to go!" shouted Washu as her fingers rapidly worked her keyboard and the world began to spin, "Ready or not, here comes the next one!"

….

 _Azaka: And so another dream world comes to a close._

 _Kamidake: Yet another intriguing adventure come and gone._

 _Azaka: We are now four worlds into our travels through time and space._

 _Kamidake: Our merry band of friends has come so far, and yet there are still two more worlds to go!_

 _Azaka: And there is no way to tell what sort of mysteries and wonders await them in the next world._

 _Kamidake: Our journey through time and space continues onward, and we will follow along until it reaches its ultimate conclusion._

 _Azaka: Now, without further ado, let us press on to the fifth dream world!_

 _Kamidake: We hope you enjoy the ride!_

….

It was another dreary day in the big city. Smoke billowed from distant factories, while the overcast threatened to turn into rain at the drop of a hat. Men in dull grey suits and hats trudged up and down the sidewalks to and from work, while their less fortunate fellow citizens waited in long lines to get served at one of several local soup kitchens set up to help the unemployed in these troubled times. The harsh blare of sirens was a near constant background feature as the local cops chased bootleggers and bank-robbers from one end of the city to the other and out into the countryside.

It was Depression and Prohibition-era America in all its dark and gritty glory.

Several of the aforementioned sirens were from police cars converging on the most recent crime scene; the largest bank in the city. The officers rushed out of their cars, only to be forced to duck behind them as Ryoko unleashed a hail of bullets from her Thompson submachine gun. Shell casings flew through the air and grazed her black pantsuit before hitting the ground, and the sounds they made were music to her ears.

She grinned as she continued to lay down fire. "Yeah, that's right, you pigs! You'd better hide! Heero, come on! We gotta bail!"

"I'm right behind you," her partner in crime replied, lugging a heavy bag of cash in one hand and wielding a pistol in the other, "Keep their heads down while I grab the car!"

"You got it, baby!" said Ryoko with a laugh as she swapped out magazines and opened up again.

Running and gunning, she was able to keep the assembled cops from taking anything more than a handful of potshots at her. The large drum-magazines she'd purchased just a few days ago for her weapon were already proving their worth; she could lay down a sustained barrage and the police could do nothing but pray that she ran out of ammo sooner or later. Fortunately, she'd packed several magazines worth of ammo for this job, and although they were heavy to lug around inside her coat she wasn't complaining one bit about the weight.

Behind her she could hear the magical sound of tires screeching against rubber as Heero brought the getaway car forward and threw open the passenger door. "Get in!"

"Right on time, lover boy!" she said, laying down covering fire as she quickly backpedaled into the car.

"Floor it!" she yelled as she slammed the door shut, still firing out the window.

"Hold on tight, then," Heero replied as he hit the gas.

Ryoko was nearly thrown back in her seat as the car accelerated. The cops were scrambling to get back into their vehicles and give chase, but the two outlaws had a head start. With Heero's skill behind the wheel and Ryoko ready to put some lead into any police cars that tried to catch them, she knew that the two of them were in the clear.

"All right!" she shouted, her hair blowing wildly in the wind, "We're gonna leave them in the dust!"

"This isn't a game, Ryoko," said Heero, "I wish you'd stop treating it like one."

"Aw, what's the matter, Heero?" said Ryoko as she tucked her head back in the car, "You should be more excited."

"I'll settle for us getting away in one piece," he quipped dryly.

Ryoko grinned as she reached back and pulled out a thick stack of cash from their bag of spoils. "We'll do more than that. Check this out, Heero! We've got a real score here!"

"Stealing the money's the easy part," Heero reminded her, "They'll be on the lookout for these bills once they look up the serial numbers. We'll have to be careful with how we launder them."

Ryoko reached over and put her arm around him. "You take this way too seriously, you know that? Can't you just enjoy the thrill of the moment for once? There's nothing like the thrill of robbing a bank, and you know it, Heero!"

Heero sighed. "I'll take your word for it. This isn't exactly the kind of life I dreamed of, Ryoko."

Ryoko shook her head. "Trust me, you'll change your mind soon enough, Heero. A heist like what we just pulled can be a real blast once you learn to loosen up a little bit. Besides, it's not like we've killed anyone in these jobs of ours. We grab the cash, spray some bullets to get the cops to dive for cover, and then we haul ass. It's nice and clean. There's nothing wrong with having some fun as long as no one gets killed, right?"

"This isn't supposed to be fun at all," said Heero, his gaze pointedly fixed on the road.

Ryoko smiled and shrugged. "Keep saying that, Heero. I'll have you singing a different tune before you know it!"

 _And once that happens_ , she thought, _then the fun will_ really _begin! The world is ours for the taking, Heero, and we're going to take it all!_

….

In cinemas across the country, citizens from all walks of life who were still fortunate enough to be able to afford an evening movie ticket were sitting down for their show. Popcorn bags and beverages were at the ready, and the moviegoers were ready to kick back and forget about their worldly troubles for a little while.

However, before they could get to the evening's entertainment, they were first treated to a snapshot of the major news of the day. As this was a theater, the film rolls were naturally dedicated to the more sensational current events, and naturally a certain outlaw couple had become the center of attention in recent weeks.

 _"This is Pioneer News here, reporting on yet another brazen robbery pulled off by none other than the notorious fugitive Ryoko Hakubi!"_

A mug shot appeared on the screen, and the audiences were treated to the special sight of Ryoko sticking her tongue out and thumbing her nose at the camera.

 _"Ryoko, the gangster who has captivated and terrified the entire United States from coast to coast, is still at large despite a massive manhunt being launched by the federal government!"_

The image shifted, and the next one on the real showed the outside of a large bank. Several police cars were parked outside, all of them riddled with bullet holes.

 _"Today she assaulted the First National Bank's Chicago branch, making off with what's estimated at this time to be no less than half a million dollars in hard cash!"_

Once again, the picture changed. This time the shot on the screen was of a palatial rural estate. In front of the estate was a young man in a clean suit.

 _"It's been over a month now since Heero Yuy, the grandson of the Senior Senator from the state of Illinois, was kidnapped by Ryoko. His well-being is among the concerns of the federal agents tasked with hunting Ryoko down. However, he has also become a wanted man, believed to be an accomplice of Ryoko! According to eyewitness accounts, he was spotted taking part in the robbery that took place today!"_

The next shot was of a pair of female law enforcement officers.

 _"FBI Detectives Mihoshi Kuramitsu and Kiyone Makibi declared at a press conference today that Ryoko's arrest is imminent. However, further questions from reporters present were declined due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation."_

The film continued to roll on, and the next scene was of a young woman in a fine white dress. Her expression was stern, and she seemed to be giving the camera a death glare.

 _"Jurai Financial Group's Miss Ayeka Jurai, who is Heero Yuy's fiancé, has severely criticized the ineptitude of the FBI. She has also announced that she will offer a reward of one million dollars for anyone with information that leads to the arrest of Ryoko and the safe return of Heero Yuy."_

….

Sitting in the living room of her estate, Ayeka would've looked every bit the picture-perfect image of a wealthy heiress were it not for the double-barreled shotgun she was currently loading. She knew that it was hardly proper for someone in her position to be handling such a weapon in her current environment, but her fury was such that she did not care one bit at the moment.

Off to the side she heard Kiyone sigh. "Really, Ayeka, did you have to go and make that announcement? You should've consulted with us before you offered a reward, especially one of that size!"

"Yeah," said Mihoshi, "People might think we're incompetent or something!"

Ayeka glared at the two detectives. "Well, that is precisely because you _are_ incompetent! There is no doubt whatsoever about that!"

She stood up as she finished loading the shotgun. "Your bumbling over the past weeks has made it abundantly clear that I cannot trust you or your agency to properly handle this investigation!"

Both detectives stepped back, and Kiyone's hand was hovering nervously over her sidearm. "Now hold on a second! What exactly are you planning on doing with that weapon?"

"What else would I be doing with it?" Ayeka snapped as she pointed it at them, "I am going to handle Ryoko myself!"

Mihoshi raised her hands. "Whoa! Be careful where you point that thing!"

Kiyone stepped forward and grabbed the gun by the barrels. "Ayeka, you have to calm down."

"I will do no such thing!" Ayeka replied, "Now let go at once! While we're wasting time like this, who knows what Ryoko is doing with my beloved Heero? I cannot allow it to go on any longer!"

"Oh, no you don't!" cried Mihoshi as she joined Kiyone in trying to wrest the gun from Ayeka's grip.

"Get your hands off me at once!" shrieked Ayeka.

That was when the heiress's fingers slipped and pulled the trigger. Fortunately, the shotgun was pointed at the ceiling, but it still nearly gave all three women a heart attack as they let go of the gun in panic. Bits of plaster and wood fell on them as they all struggled to catch their breath… and that was soon followed by a chandelier crashing to the floor.

"Oh, great," Ayeka growled, "Now look what you've done!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" pouted Mihoshi.

"That's right," said Kiyone, " _You're_ the one who brought out the damn shotgun, Ayeka!"

"Is everything okay in here?" asked Sasami nervously as she walked into the room with Ryo-Ohki in her arms.

Ayeka sighed. "Yes, Sasami, it is. Now, please run along; your private tutor should be here soon."

Sasami nodded and smiled. "Okay! See you later, Ayeka!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki as the two of them left the room.

 _This is not over_ , thought Ayeka as she picked up the shotgun and proceeded to reload it, _Mark my words, Ryoko, I_ will _hunt you down and take Heero back from you!_

….

 **One week later…**

"Keep your hands up," said Heero as he pointed his pistol at the bank staff, "No one needs to get hurt today. Ryoko, are you done back there?"

Ryoko grinned as she shoved thick stacks of cash off the bank vault shelves and into the bag. "Just about. You're doing great, Heero!"

Heero sighed. "I'm not doing this for approval, Ryoko. Just finish up quickly so we can get out of here."

 _He still hasn't loosened up_ , thought Ryoko as she continued to scoop up the cash, _I really don't get why. I mean, I took him to that mob casino after the last job and we had a great time there! Sure, I lost most of our money on the roulette wheel, but this job will make up for that! Maybe I just need to think of a different way for us to spend our cash?_

"Hey, Heero?" she said, "What do you want to do once we're done here?"

"Now's not the time to talk about that," Heero replied, "Hurry up or we won't be able to make it out of here."

"All right, all right," said Ryoko as she closed up the bag and exited the vault, "I've got the dough, so let's scram!"

The two of them rushed out of the bank and ran towards the car. Ryoko could hear sirens in the distance, but she wasn't concerned; the cops out here weren't as well-prepared as the ones from the last town, and their slow response time was proof of that. The pair of thieves would be gone long before they arrived.

"Okay," said Ryoko as they hopped into the car, "Hit it!"

It didn't take long for Heero to get them clear of the town. Checking the rearview mirror, Ryoko smiled when she saw no sign of police pursuit.

"Man, that was easy!" she said, "We should've hit this place sooner."

"We shouldn't have hit it at all," Heero grumbled.

Ryoko frowned. "You're still going on about that? Come on, Heero; get with me here! This is our life from now on. You need to embrace it!"

"That might be easier to do if we could hold on to our ill-gotten gains for more than a week," he quipped, "I still can't believe you blew through our last haul so quickly."

Ryoko winked. "Come on, Heero; a girl's gotta have fun! You enjoyed yourself too, didn't you?"

"I might if you would show a little more restraint with our finances," Heero replied, "We can't keep this up forever, Ryoko. We need to think long-term."

Ryoko sighed. "You're way too serious, you know that? If we keep hitting banks in smaller towns like this one then we'll be all set. They're much easier to knock over than the ones in the big cities."

"They'll catch on sooner or later," said Heero, "and the feds will tighten the net. We have to consider other options."

"Like what?" asked Ryoko.

"Like getting out of the country while we still can," said Heero, "We've got a good haul here; this can last us quite a while if we play our cards right."

"Oh!" said Ryoko, smiling again, "I love cards! Poker, blackjack…"

Heero shook his head. "That's not what I meant and you know it. We need to exercise some caution and discipline with our money from now on… which is why _I_ will be taking charge of it."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Ryoko protested, "We're partners, Heero! You can't just cut me off from our prize like that!"

"I can if I think you're going to blow it all on gambling again," he countered, "I'm not saying you can't have any fun at all, but we need to make this money _last_ , Ryoko. We can't do that if you lose it all at the tables."

Ryoko folded her arms. "And just how long can you make it last, mister miser?"

"At least until we're out of the country," Heero replied, "and quite a ways past that. What we've got is enough to get high quality fake passports, bribe our way past customs, and set ourselves up with a comfortable life someplace far away from here. We have a chance for a clean escape, Ryoko. We should take it."

Ryoko couldn't help but smile. Heero might've been putting the brakes on her hard-partying lifestyle, but she had to admire the way that he could see the bigger picture. What he was showing her was a means to achieve what she _really_ wanted, more than anything else; to get him truly beyond the reach of Ayeka and the cops. If that meant a little bit of spending discipline was in order, then who was she to fight him on that?

Ryoko sighed. "All right, I'll play along… but you've got to give me at least a little bit of spending money! Come on, Heero; I'll go crazy if you don't let me blow off some steam."

Heero nodded. "That's fine. We'll work that out once we find a good place to rest and plan our next move. If we keep driving we should hit one of our safe houses in a few hours. Can you restrain yourself until then?"

Ryoko leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Only because it's for you, Heero."

"I'll take what I can get," he replied as the car sped off into the setting sun.

….

 **A few days later…**

 _How did I let her talk me into this?_ , thought Heero as he straightened his tie, _This is a risk we really shouldn't be taking._

He was waiting in the lobby of the hotel for Ryoko to join him. He had changed suits a little while ago, and was now dressed quite sharply in a formal black and white ensemble. Heero wasn't one to boast, but if the looks he was getting from some of the ladies in the lobby were any indication he cut quite a dashing figure when he took the time to clean up properly.

"Well, well," said a familiar female voice from behind him, "Who's the lucky girl that gets swept off her feet by you tonight?"

Heero sighed. "That would be you, Ryoko."

Ryoko giggled. "You know, I think that you might be more excited about that if you turned around."

Heero did so, and it took all of the restraint he could muster to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. There she was, his partner in crime, and she looked _stunning_. She'd traded in her pantsuit for a strapless scarlet dress that clung so tightly to her body that it left very little to the imagination. Her turquoise hair was as wild as ever, but when combined with the dress and the predatory gleam in her amber eyes it gave her the air of an elegant jungle cat who had her prey in sight and was ready to pounce.

She smirked as he stared at her. "I know you're a man of few words, Heero, and I don't mind that, but I put a lot of work into prettying up for you tonight. Is a little feedback too much to ask?"

It took him a moment to regain command of his vocabulary. "You look… incredible."

She smiled as she looped her arm through his. "You really are a sweetheart, you know that? Come on; I promised you a good time tonight, and I intend to make good on it."

"You're the one who said there was a good speakeasy in this hotel's basement," Heero replied, "I'll follow your lead."

She guided him off to the side of the hotel lobby. There was a door labeled 'staff only' along with a rather burly man in a dark suit.

"Can I help you two with something?" he asked.

"Yes," said Ryoko, "We're looking for the cabaret."

The man's eyes narrowed as he shook his head. "We don't have that here. You need to get with the times."

"Oh, how forgetful of me," Ryoko replied, "I meant the café. You know? The VIP café? I hear it's worth going to hell for."

The man's eyes nodded at the conclusion of the password, and he opened the door. "Down the stairs, second door on your right."

"Thanks," said Ryoko as she passed a few bills to the doorman.

"How did you find out about this place?" asked Heero as the door closed behind them.

Ryoko winked. "Come on, Heero. It's _me_ we're talking about here, remember?"

Heero couldn't help but chuckle. "Good point."

Following the doorman's instructions, they soon found themselves at the entrance to one of the livelier and better-funded speakeasies in town. Known in back-alley circles as 'The Gates Of Hell', it was an underworld bar and nightclub that was right at home in the era of Prohibition. The lighting of the booths along the walls was deliberately kept dim to encourage privacy, while the dance floor was broad and well-illuminated. A long and fine-crafted bar ran along one side of the establishment, while a doorway with a sign titled 'exotic goods' promised much for those who preferred a different brand of intoxicants to alcohol. The far end of the dance floor was dominated by a raised stage, and the jazz band occupying it was well into a smooth and relaxed performance.

Ryoko smiled as she took it all in. "Now _this_ is my kind of place."

Heero couldn't help but give a small smile as well. "It has its charm."

"You bet it does," said Ryoko as she pulled him toward the dance floor.

Ryoko might've had the initiative up to this point, but once they joined with the other couples Heero took the lead. With one hand on her shoulder and the other on her hip, he gently guided her through the dance. For her part, Ryoko seemed content to loop her arms over Heero's shoulders and around his neck, pulling herself close enough for her rather prominent bosom to press up against his chest.

"You see, Heero?" she whispered in his ear, "The outlaw life has its perks."

"A few," he begrudgingly admitted as he tried to ignore the fact that his heartbeat had picked up a couple notches.

Ryoko smirked and winked at him. "Just a few? Come on, Heero; you'd never get to experience anything like this with that goody-two-shoes Ayeka. She wouldn't be caught dead within a mile of this place. Places like this were made for you and me."

"You know," he replied, "we could afford to go to places like this without being bank-robbers. There are honest ways to make a living and have enough cash to enjoy establishments that happen to be on the seedier side of the tracks."

"Maybe," said Ryoko softly, "but there's no thrill in living like that, Heero. There's no rush, no adventure. A place like this is meant for those who live on the edge, going day-to-day without knowing what tomorrow's going to bring."

"Is that the life that you want?" asked Heero.

Ryoko raised her hand to caress his cheek. "It's the only one I've ever known… and I want you to be a part of it."

Despite all attempts at restraint, Heero could help but blush slightly. "Ryoko… I…"

She smiled as she put her finger to his lips. "Don't fight it, Heero. This is the life that you've been looking for. Freedom, adventure, independence… I can give it all to you. In a way, I already have; you only need to embrace them now."

Heero sighed. "It's not that simple."

Ryoko shook her head. "You only think that because you've been denied the chance to really cut loose until now. This world has so much more to offer than the confined life you knew before. Sure, it's a little fast-paced, but that's part of the charm. We're not bound by all those obligations that people like Ayeka are so obsessed over. The only limits on us are that of our imaginations."

"And our wallets," said Heero dryly.

Ryoko giggled. "Hey, we've been doing all right. I _am_ letting you manage our money now, aren't I? A little night out like this won't cut too deeply into our funds."

"Maybe," Heero replied, "but we can't afford to make a habit of this. Not until we have a steady source of income… and are far away from any pursuit."

Ryoko grinned. "Give it time, Heero. That day will come before you know it, and then we'll truly be free."

Heero gave her a small smile in return. "True freedom, huh? It does have a nice ring to it."

Ryoko reached over to undo the top button of Heero's shirt before reaching her hand inside and running it along his chest. "I'll give it more than just a ring if you let me, Heero."

Her hand withdrew a moment later, but that brief gesture was still enough to set his heart racing. Heero had absolutely no idea how to respond to that, and it was much to his relief that Ryoko didn't push things further.

 _What's gotten into me?_ , he thought as their dance continued, _I never considered getting into the outlaw life; the only reason I'm here now is because of her. I could've bailed at any time. So why…_

 _…why am I still with her?_

It was a question he didn't have an answer for. All he could do for now was follow his emotions, and they were pulling him inexorably to her.

A few moments later the song came to an end, and Ryoko smiled at him again. "How about a drink before we go another round?"

Heero nodded; he could use some refreshment after Ryoko's teasing. "I'd like that."

"Good," said Ryoko, "because the bar's calling our names, and it'd be rude to say no."

Heero chuckled. "Since when have you cared about what might be considered rude?"

Ryoko winked. "Whenever there's booze involved!"

"I'd expect nothing less from you," he replied.

They waved down the bartender a few moments later. The man working the counter had a rather robust build, and Heero suspected he also doubled as part of the security staff in the event that things got a little too rowdy for management's tastes.

"What'll it be?" he said.

"Vodka martini," said Ryoko.

"Bacardi," said Heero, "Straight up."

The bartender nodded. "Cash up front; we don't run tabs here."

"Of course," said Heero as he slid a handful of bills across the counter, "This should suffice."

Ryoko grinned as the bartender fetched their drinks. "Straight up, eh? Feeling adventurous tonight, Heero?"

"If I am," he replied with a smirk, "I suppose I have you to thank for that."

A triumphant gleam appeared in her eyes. "So I'm finally making some progress with you here? All right! This calls for celebration!"

"Don't get carried away," Heero admonished her, "We still need to keep our wits sharp. We might have to bail at a moment's notice, after all."

Ryoko shook her head as the bartender slid their drinks to them. "Relax, Heero. There's no way the cops will raid this place."

"What makes you so sure of that?" he asked.

Ryoko smirked. "I happen to have it on good authority that the hotel owner's paying off the local chief of police, along with his top lieutenants. They get a cut of the action, and in return the party keeps rolling. It's nice to have such cooperative local law enforcement, isn't it?"

Heero sighed. "I never thought I'd consider police corruption to be a good thing."

Ryoko patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it. Once you learn how to tell who's on the take and who's not, this whole outlaw deal gets a lot easier."

"Funny," Heero quipped, "I've never seen you take the time to make those observations whenever you decide to hit a bank."

"That takes too much time and effort," Ryoko complained, "I like a quick smash-and-grab job. A few bullets in the air, cash in the bag, and then a speedy getaway's totally my style."

"I've noticed," Heero deadpanned, "and so has the entire country."

"So what?" Ryoko shot back, "It's only the cops that really care about us. The regular schmucks don't give a damn. Hell, I bet some of them are rooting for us! After all, we're sticking it to the banks that lost their life savings. It's not like people really feel sorry for bankers these days, Heero."

"True," said Heero, "but bankers don't have to worry about the cops breathing down their necks. Besides, the government and Ayeka are offering rewards for information that leads to our arrest. There are plenty of people out there who are desperate for cash in these times. They'll rat us out in a heartbeat."

"That's why we've got to stay on the move," said Ryoko, "We can't put down roots anytime soon. The open road's our home."

"At least until we're out of the country," said Heero.

Ryoko smiled as she raised her glass. "You're right. Here's to our great escape!"

Heero nodded as his glass tapped hers. "I'll drink to that."

….

 **One week later…**

Ryoko smiled from her perch atop the car. "Ah, this is great! Look at that view, Heero!"

Her companion, who was sitting on the ground leaning against the side of the car, nodded. "Yes… it's impressive."

They'd made it all the way out to San Francisco in their quest to stay one step ahead of the feds. Their car was parked at an unused dock, and the two of them were enjoying the sight of the bay at night. The sky was clear, the sun and the moon were out, and there was no one else around.

 _I'm not the type that normally stops to smell the roses_ , Ryoko mused as she gazed out over the water, _but a view like this… well, I'll take the time to enjoy it._

They'd kept a relatively low profile over the week as they made their way across the country, and thanks to Heero's discipline they'd actually managed to hold onto their money this time. As much as Ryoko disliked him limiting how much she could spend, she had to admit that it had paid off. They most certainly wouldn't have made it this far without him exercising restraint over their spending.

"What a night," she said, "I haven't seen a sky this beautiful in quite a while."

"We haven't really had the chance to stargaze ever since this little adventure began," said Heero, "It's a nice change of pace."

Ryoko sighed wistfully. "You and me, alone under the starry sky. It's something special, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," said Heero.

Ryoko looked down at him. "You don't sound all that enthusiastic about it."

Heero sighed. "I'm just considering our circumstances, Ryoko. We are still fugitives, after all. Besides, I never asked to get pulled into this kind of lifestyle, even if it is with you."

Ryoko smiled. "Maybe, but it's been a hell of a lot more exciting than what you once knew. We've been through a lot together now. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Besides the arrest warrants out for us, you mean?" he replied dryly.

Ryoko pouted. "Hey, I'm trying to have a moment with you here! The least you can do is play along."

"I've been 'playing along' since this journey started," said Heero wearily, "and I'm honestly not sure how much longer I can keep it up."

A bright light suddenly beamed down upon them, and Ryoko heard a familiar voice. "Well, lucky for you, it's finally over!"

Ryoko shielded her eyes. "Damn it! Washu, what the hell?"

"Hey, that's no way to talk to your mother!" she shot back.

Heero stood up as the light began to fade. "Finally."

Slowly opening her eyes, Ryoko could see Washu standing on the dock in front of her and Heero. The Dimension Turner was with her, only it wasn't just the ball this time; the entire apparatus was assembled on the dock.

Washu smiled. "Long time no see, Heero. You doing okay?"

Heero nodded. "Well enough, all things considered. Is the machine finally fixed?"

Washu shook her head. "Sorry, I'm afraid that's a little premature. I've made a ton of progress, but I'm still hitting some snags… such as _this_ world."

"I see," said Heero, "So this ride's not quite over yet, huh?"

"We're getting there," said Washu, "but I'm afraid that I can't close off this world as easily as the past ones."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's going on?"

"The worlds that were created up until now," said Washu, "were simple enough to navigate through. In large part that's because the people who created them are relatively straightforward with their desires, and also because they didn't have a huge emotional investment in the particular world that they created. I'm afraid it's that second bit that's causing problems here."

Ryoko had a feeling she knew where this was going. "You're talking about me here, aren't you?"

Washu nodded. "From what I can tell, this world is a reflection of what you see as an ideal existence for yourself."

"That wasn't exactly hard to figure out," said Heero dryly.

"I'm not finished yet," said Washu, "I can't just simply close off this world like I did the other ones because your attachment to it is so powerful, Ryoko. In order for us to move forward, you have to renounce this world."

Ryoko folded her arms and glared at Washu. "Not a chance!"

"Ryoko, be reasonable," said Heero, "We can't stay here forever. We need to make our way back to our original world."

"And so I have to deny a world that's perfect for me?" Ryoko shot back, "Perfect for _us_? I made this world just as much for you as I did for me, Heero!"

Heero shook his head. "I want to believe you when you say that, but I know you, Ryoko. You made this world first and foremost for yourself. We all did when we used the Dimension Turner. Even if you did think of me when you created this world, you should know me well enough by now to understand that a life as a fugitive is hardly the kind of existence I'm looking for."

"But it's more than that!" Ryoko countered, "This is _freedom_ , Heero! You can't deny that you want that!"

"Spending the rest of my days looking over my shoulders isn't my idea of freedom," Heero replied, "and it shouldn't be yours either, Ryoko. I know you've been an outlaw all your life, and this world is supposed to reflect your desires, but are you really okay with being at risk of death or imprisonment for the rest of your days?"

"If it means I can go wherever I want, whenever I want, then yes!" Ryoko cried, "I'm not afraid of the uncertainty that this life brings. I embrace it! It's who I am!"

Heero sighed. "Perhaps it is, but it's not who I am, and I imagine the others would agree as well. Ryoko, this needs to end. The real world's waiting for us; we can't escape it forever."

"Heero's right, Ryoko," said Washu, "We can't run from the real world indefinitely."

Heero nodded. "It's where we belong, Ryoko."

Ryoko shook her head. "No, it's not!"

Heero folded his arms. "I know you can be selfish, but this is downright childish, Ryoko."

"So what?" said Ryoko, "Why are you so eager to leave this world, Heero? Haven't we had fun together here?"

"I already told you," said Heero firmly, "This isn't my idea of fun. Besides, you didn't exactly give me a choice in the matter."

Ryoko sighed. "So this world hasn't grown on you at all, Heero? Not even a little bit?"

"No," said Heero, "and it's wishful thinking for you to believe otherwise. It has had its moments, but they're just that; moments. This is not a life that I embrace, Ryoko… and frankly, it's not one that I want for you either."

Ryoko jumped off the car. "All right, maybe I was being hopeful. Still… I really thought you and I could make something of this world. I thought we had a bond that could thrive here! Do you really think so little of the connection you and I have? Do you really hate the idea of traveling alone with me so much?"

Heero shook his head, and Ryoko could've sworn that she caught just the hint of a blush. "It's not that. I… I do enjoy traveling with you, Ryoko. It's just… it shouldn't be like this."

Ryoko stepped back and jumped onto the roof of the car. "Well, I'm not going to let this end. I'm staying in this world! This is the world that I desired. This is _my_ world!"

"Ryoko, stop it!" scolded Washu, "This has gone on long enough! It's time to face reality."

Ryoko shook her head. "No! I won't let this world come to an end, and there's nothing that you can do about it!"

Without waiting for a response from either of them, she took flight.

 _Why?_ , she thought, sparing one last look over her shoulder at Heero, _Why don't you understand, Heero? This isn't just the perfect world for me. It's the perfect world for both of us!_

 _Isn't it?_

….

Heero sighed as he watched Ryoko disappear in the distance. "Well, that could've gone better."

"No kidding," said Washu, "I thought she might be difficult to reason with, but still… this is a problem."

"There's really no other way for us to get out of this world?" asked Heero.

Washu shook her head. "Each world is tied to the will of the one who created it. For the others, creating their dream worlds was really nothing more than an idle exercise in wish-fulfillment. They could let go because at heart they weren't really tied to their individual worlds like they are the real one. With Ryoko, though… she's fighting tooth and nail for this one."

It wasn't hard for Heero to sympathize with Ryoko even after all the trouble she was causing. He remembered all too well what Ryoko had told him about her life before the two of them had met. It was easy to see why she would see a world with her as an outlaw as ideal; it was really the only life she'd ever known. In this world she had taken a hard existence and turned it into an adventure, and even if it wasn't one that Heero necessarily approved of he could understand why she was so reluctant to let it go. At the same time, he also did appreciate that Ryoko genuinely believed that she had thought of him along with herself when she had brought this world into being, even though this was nowhere near the kind of life that Heero wanted for himself.

 _Life dealt her a rotten hand at the start_ , he thought, _Washu did her no favors by abandoning her at such a young age. I don't care if Washu says she had her reasons. Ryoko deserves a chance at happiness, but I don't want her to be an outlaw for the rest of her life. It might be what she knows best, but… it could end badly for her all too easily._

"Washu," he said, "You're able to travel through these worlds pretty much at will, right?"

"Well, only the one that we're currently inhabiting, to be precise," she replied, "Still, if I want to go somewhere in this world in a hurry, it's a pretty simple matter."

"Can you apply that to other people?" he asked.

Washu nodded. "Yes. I'm assuming in this scenario you're referring to yourself, correct?"

Heero nodded. "Correct. That leads me to my next question; how precisely can you track someone in this world?"

Washu smiled. "Well, now that I've pinpointed you and Ryoko, I can track the two of you pretty much at will. What do you got in mind?"

"Find Ryoko and get me to her," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "I'll take care of the rest."

….

She floated through the air, drifting aimlessly over the lights of the city and beneath the glimmering stars. It was unlike Ryoko to be so lost. She had no idea where she should go next, but how could that be? This was _her_ world. It was hers for the taking. She could go wherever she wanted.

So why did she feel like she completely lacked direction?

 _How did it all go wrong?_ , she thought, _This world's supposed to be perfect for me, right?_

It had been until Washu had brought it all to a grinding halt. At least, that was the first place that Ryoko cast the blame, but it didn't take long to realize that there was more to it than that. Washu had simply shown up and told her what she already knew deep down in her heart; that this world wasn't real.

No matter how badly she might wish otherwise.

She could've ignored that under other circumstances, but when Heero had sided with Washu that had driven Ryoko over the edge. Why couldn't he see that she had done this for him just as much as she had for herself? Why didn't he realize that this world was a place where the two of them could be happy together?

Why couldn't he see that the two of them belonged here?

Spotting an amusement park below, she idly drifted down until she found a Ferris Wheel. It was a simply matter for her to phase through the wall of the topmost gondola, and from there she had a splendid view of the bay. She couldn't really focus on the sparkling city lights reflected on the water in the distance, though.

All she could think about was Heero.

Was this world really so unacceptable to him? Was there anything that she could do to change his mind? Those two questions continued to echo in her mind, but try as she might she could not find the answers she wanted.

What had happened to her? She used to be such an independent woman. Getting hung up over a guy wasn't her style; if she had the power to create a perfect world for herself in the past she could've done so without taking anyone else into consideration and enjoyed herself to the fullest. Now she had just such a dream world, but it had lost its sparkle the moment the young man she'd been spending the past few months with had rejected it.

She sighed as she looked out the window. Was it wrong for her to want a perfect world? Everyone else had used the Dimension Turner, and Washu had brought all of their worlds to an end sooner or later, but only Ryoko was willing to fight as hard as she was now to hold on to hers. That simply proved how passionate she was about this world, and it felt so cruel for it to have to come to an end now.

"I guess a girl like me doesn't deserve a dream world," she said bitterly as she looked out the window.

"I don't believe that," said a familiar male voice.

Ryoko nearly jumped out of her seat as Heero suddenly appeared out of thin air in the middle of the gondola. "Heero? Where did you come from?"

"Washu," he replied, "It wasn't hard for her to track you down and send me to you. Mind if I join you?"

Ryoko couldn't help but smirk. "Well, you're already here, aren't you?"

He chuckled as he sat down next to her. "That I am."

Ryoko looked down. "So, are you here to drag me back to my senses?"

"I'm just here to talk," he said, "Nothing more."

Ryoko sighed. "You don't have to lie to me, Heero."

"And I'm not," he replied firmly, "It's true that I want to go back to our world, but since this is your world we need to leave it on your terms. I can tell just how strongly you feel about this world, Ryoko; I know letting go of it isn't easy."

She looked him in the eyes. "Heero… when I made this world, I really was thinking of the two of us. Do you really don't believe me when I say that?"

Heero sighed. "What I said earlier… it came out harsher than I meant it. I still believe that you made this world for yourself first… but I also believe that you were thinking of me when you were creating it as well. I know that people like Ayeka and Kiyone see your criminal history when they look at you, but there's a lot more to you than that. You've committed crimes, but you're not the heartless villain that others might paint you as… and I don't think you're as bad as you've made yourself out to be in this world, either."

Ryoko's eyes widened; she hadn't been expecting him to take this tack with her. "Heero… you really mean that, don't you?"

Heero nodded. "I told you; I'm not here to lie to you. Do you believe me when I tell you that?"

How could she not? She knew just how guarded of an individual he could be, but the way he was treating her now was incredibly gentle and considerate. Sure, he had a strong motive there; he wanted to get back to the real world, and she was the key to that. However, that didn't change the fact that she could tell he was being completely sincere with her. He genuinely _cared_ about her, and that made him exceptionally rare as far people she'd met before were concerned.

"Yes," she said after a moment, "I do."

"Good," he said, "because if you don't trust me then what I'm about to tell you won't have any real meaning."

"And what's that?" she asked.

"That you're a far better person than you give yourself credit for," said Heero, "and that's why I want you to let go of this world. I know you've lived your whole life as an outlaw, but I want better than that for you. I don't know how it's like out in the wider galaxy, Ryoko, but I do know how outlaws typically end up on this world; in a prison or in the grave. It can take time, but one of those two fates usually catches up to them sooner or later. That's the last thing I want for you. I can protect you in the Earth Sphere, but outside of that area Preventers has no power, which means that _I_ would have no power to help you no matter how badly I want to."

"I'm a big girl, Heero," said Ryoko, "I don't need protection."

Heero shook his head. "I know that you're stronger than I could ever be, but you're not invincible. I don't want you to find yourself in a fight that you can't win."

"So would you just keep me in a cage?" asked Ryoko, "I appreciate your concern for me, Heero, but safety means nothing if I can't be free."

"I don't want to keep you hidden away," Heero countered, "I know how much you value your independence. Frankly I'm surprised you've stuck around with me as long as you have; I thought someone as free-spirited as you would've gotten tired of this planet a long time ago."

Ryoko couldn't help but smile. "Well, it has a certain charm to it. It has you, Heero, and that's not something I could give up lightly."

She had the satisfaction of seeing him blush slightly, although to his credit he didn't let it throw him off. "If you feel that way about me, then try to consider things from my end. I may not have originally wanted to host you and Ayeka when the two of you came to Earth, but that's changed since then. Meeting you, and all the time we've spent together since then… it's changed my life in ways I could never have imagined, and I don't regret a second of it. I don't want to lose that, Ryoko… but we can't have that in this world. The world that we came from might not be an outlaw paradise, but like you said, it has its charms. More to the point, it's the world that we were _meant_ to live in. It's not perfect, but it's ours all the same… and if it's not a dream world for you, then I want to change that."

Now it was Ryoko's turn to blush; no guy had _ever_ spoken to her like that before. "Heero…"

"Ryoko," said Heero, "I can't do what the Dimension Turner is capable of; I can't create a world that's perfect for you. However… I want to give you a chance in the real world. The chance you didn't have before… the chance that you deserve. I don't want to just continue watching over you along with the others; I want to give you a shot at a new future. I don't know what that would be or how I'd accomplish it, but… I want to try. Will you let me?"

Ryoko smiled again, and she was all too aware of the deepening shade of red sweeping over her face. "Well, when you put it like that… how can I say no?"

"You always can," he replied, "I don't have the power to force you to go along with me… and if I did, I wouldn't use it. It would mean nothing without your free will. That's part of what makes you who you are, and the last thing I want is to take that away from you."

He then stood up and held out his hand. "Well, I've laid my cards on the table. It's up to you now, Ryoko. What do you say?"

She smirked. "You want me to bet on you?"

"You're the one who likes to gamble," he said, "So tell me; where will you put your chips?"

Ryoko smiled as she accepted his hand. "On you. I'll put it all on you, Heero… and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Thanks," he said as he pulled her to her feet, "Now, let's get out of here."

….

Washu smiled as she saw Ryoko floating down towards the dock, carrying Heero with her. "Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would."

"She's ready, Washu," said Heero as the two of them touched down.

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah. Come on; let's go."

Washu turned back to the Dimension Turner and checked the readings. "Yup, looks like we're all set."

A bright light enveloped them, and the world began to spin again. As this world began to shut down, Washu couldn't help but notice the fond look Ryoko was giving Heero, and she wondered just what exactly the young man had said to her.

 _I'll pry that out of her later_ , she thought, _It should be interesting, if nothing else…_

"Finally," said Heero, "We can go home."

"No kidding," said Ryoko.

Washu smirked. "Whoa there, you two! You're getting a little ahead of yourselves!"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"This is it, right?" said Ryoko, "I was the one holding everything up, wasn't I?"

"You were holding up _this_ world," Washu clarified, "but haven't you been keeping count? We've been through five worlds so far, but _six_ of you used my machine… and we still haven't been to the world of the one who used it _first_."

She had the satisfaction of seeing Heero's eyes widen. "Wait… you mean…?"

Ryoko grinned. "Oh, I forgot all about that! This should be fun!"

Washu chuckled. "Indeed. Let's get this show on the road now, shall we?"

 _It's about damn time_ , she thought as the light intensified and the spinning increased in speed, _I hadn't planned on going through five other worlds first, but that doesn't matter now._

 _Now the real experiment can finally begin!_

….

 _Azaka: And so our merry band of friends continue their journey through time and space._

 _Kamidake: At long last, they have come to the final leg of their voyage._

 _Azaka: The worlds of Ayeka, Kiyone, Sasami, Mihoshi, and Ryoko were all colorful and most intriguing places._

 _Kamidake: And they were superb windows into the minds of their creators!_

 _Azaka: Shall the world of Heero Yuy prove to be equally illuminating?_

 _Kamidake: What sort of world would be paradise for a man like him?_

 _Azaka: There is only one way to find out._

 _Kamidake: Indeed. So, without further ado, let us rejoin our happy gang of time and space adventurers as they pass through their final dream world before returning home._

 _Azaka and Kamidake: We hope you enjoy the show!_

….

 _In the blood-soaked hell of the Bakumatsu, there was a warrior who took up the sword to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate. Striking from the shadows as an assassin before taking to the open battlefield, this swordsman felled countless men with his peerless technique, his flashing blade a death sentence for the samurai unfortunate enough to go up against it. His skills helped bring about the downfall of the Shogunate and paved the way for the new age of Meiji. When the bloodshed finally came to an end, the swordsman vanished, and with the flow of time became nothing more than rumor and legend._

 _Now, in the 11_ _th_ _year of the Meiji Era, on the outskirts of Tokyo…_

 _…a certain wandering warrior steps forth from the fog of the past._

….

"Hey!" shouted one of the men chasing her, "Get back here, you tramp!"

"You stinking thief!" yelled another.

"You'll pay for this!" snarled a third.

Looking over her shoulder, Ryoko stuck her tongue out at her pursuers. "You'll have to catch me first, chumps!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki as she ran alongside her.

Ryoko grinned as she stole a quick glance at the bag of coins she'd swiped from the men now chasing her. It had been all too easy to sneak into the back of the gambling den and grab her prize. There had been a lot more back there, but this was what she had felt she could make a quick escape with. Unfortunately, she had still been discovered, and although she felt confident enough to taunt her pursuers she still wanted to get away from them as fast as possible.

Up ahead she spotted a bridge, the last one before the outskirts of Tokyo became the countryside. "Book it, Ryo-Ohki! Once we're across we can hide in the woods. They'll never find us there!"

"Meow!" her furry companion replied.

"You won't get away with this!" shouted one of her pursuers.

"Yeah!" called another, "No one robs the yakuza!"

"Kiss my ass, losers!" she shot back over her shoulder as she made it to the bridge.

Unfortunately, her distraction caused her to miss the man standing in the middle of the bridge. Before Ryoko knew it she had plowed right into him, causing both of them to tumble to ground.

"Damn it," she hissed, wincing at the impact, "I really didn't need that!"

"That makes two of us," said the man she'd collided with.

Ryoko meant to get right back up and keep on running, but she did a double take when she saw just who she'd run into. He looked around her age, and she was struck his appearance. He was dressed in a blue and white hakama, and there was a sword at his hip. He had thick, unruly brown hair and piercing blue eyes, and while he seemed a bit on the slender side there was definitely more than a hint of athleticism to his build. Under other circumstances Ryoko might stick around to hit on such a handsome stranger, but her current situation did not allow for that luxury.

"Sorry," she said as she extricated herself from him and regained her feet, "but I've got to… oh, crap!"

Both ends of the bridge were now blocked by thugs. The group was armed with a motley assortment of weapons including clubs, knives, sickles and more besides. Ryoko was pretty confident with the kunai she carried in her tunic, but she didn't like the idea of fighting all of these guys while trying to protect Ryo-Ohki and her loot at the same time.

"Well, now," said the young man Ryoko had bumped into, "It seems you're rather popular. What did you do to garner so much attention for yourself?"

"None of your business, pal," Ryoko replied.

"She's right," said the leader of the thugs, "Take a hike, buddy. This is a business matter, and it doesn't concern you."

The young man's eyes narrowed. "Those seem like an awful lot of weapons for just a simple business matter."

The top thug chuckled. "Says the guy who's violating the Sword Banning Act. Didn't you get the memo? The days of the samurai are over. You're either very brave or very stupid to be wandering around Tokyo wearing a sword. Hell, if you're a samurai then you're probably both!"

"My sword and my mental state aren't relevant right now," the young man replied calmly, "What I'm more concerned about is the nature of the 'business' between you and this woman. What's going on?"

The lead thug scowled. "Well, if you insist on butting in where you're not wanted, this tramp stole from the yakuza. No one pilfers from our gang and gets away with it!"

"It's not like you guys earned this money honestly," Ryoko quipped, "Easy come, easy go, right? That's the way it works for thieves."

The top enforcer smirked. "Maybe, but I promise things won't be easy for you, lady. We'll be taking that money back, and then we're going to teach you your place."

"That won't be necessary," said the mysterious young man, "Surely it's enough for her to return what she stole, isn't it?"

The thug folded his arms. "No, it's not. Now butt out, pal, unless you want to share in her punishment."

"Hey, are you crazy?" Ryoko asked the stranger, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Hardly," he replied, "but I don't intend on letting them harm you either."

The top thug laughed. "What's this? Is the honorable samurai going to defend a lowly thief? No wonder you guys got wiped out in the Satsuma Rebellion; you're too stupid for your own good!"

"That remains to be seen," said the young man, "Now, I will ask one more time; will you not allow this woman to simply return the money she stole and be on her way?"

"Not a chance," the enforcer replied, "All right boys; take the money and their lives!"

The young man sighed before turning to Ryoko. "Can you and your pet swim?"

Ryoko nodded, wondering where this was going. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because we're going to get wet," said the stranger.

Before Ryoko could so much as blink the young man drew his sword. Striking like a bolt of lightning, he attacked not the men that were approaching them from both sides but the bridge itself. Ryoko's eyes widened in shock as the wood beneath them cracked. The fissures spread rapidly, and the entire bridge buckled and groaned.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"Saving our lives," he replied before striking the bridge again.

This time the impact caused the bridge to cave inward before outright collapsing. Ryoko cried out as they plunged into the river, making sure to grab Ryo-Ohki before they hit the water. Unfortunately, she lost her grip on the bag of money in the process, and it swiftly disappeared beneath the surface of the river.

"Come on," said the young man, pulling her along as he swam with the current, "We need to get out of here before they recover."

Looking over her shoulder, Ryoko saw the thugs that had been about to attack them flailing in the water, grabbing onto whatever bits of debris might support their weight or swimming for the shore. In all the confusion and panic none of them were looking for her; it was time to get while the getting was good.

She let him guide her downstream a ways before they made it to shore. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she held up Ryo-Ohki and gave her a once-over.

"You doing okay, girl?" she asked.

Ryo-Ohki nodded. "Meow!"

She smiled before standing up to wring some of the water out of her clothes. Her rescuer was doing the same while looking upriver for any signs of potential pursuit, and Ryoko was struck by just how calm he was about what had just happened. He had just dropped a bridge and pissed off the yakuza by saving her hide, yet he didn't seem to be worried in the least.

"Two swings instead of one," she heard him mutter, "I must be getting rusty. It's been a while since I've had to collapse a bridge on such short notice."

 _Wait_ , she thought, _he's done this before?_

He then turned to her, and once again Ryoko was struck by his piercing blue eyes. "Are you hurt?"

Ryoko couldn't help but smile; the stranger did look genuinely concerned about her, and that wasn't something she got from people every day. "I think so, yeah."

"Good," said her rescuer before looking down the river again, "We should get moving. I don't know if dropping the bridge will be enough to discourage pursuit, and the most obvious course of action on their end would be to follow the river."

"Did you have a place in mind?" she asked.

The young man nodded. "Follow me."

He made right for the tree-line, and Ryoko shrugged before tagging along behind him with Ryo-Ohki. Although there were no obvious landmarks or paths, the young man seemed to be quite sure of the direction they were heading with.

"Hey," said Ryoko after a few minutes, bothered by the silence, "Not that I'm trying to complain here, but why did you help me back there? That wasn't your fight."

"There's more than enough violence to go around in this world," he replied, "If I can prevent one more person from falling victim to it I will, regardless of their circumstances."

Ryoko smirked. "So you don't care one bit that I really did steal from those guys?"

"Thievery isn't an action that should be smiled upon," he said, "but I don't think it should be responded to with the brute force those men undoubtedly had in mind. Had they been willing to simply accept the return of what you stole then there would've been no need for the action I took to stop them from harming you."

"So is this kind of a thing of yours?" she asked, "You just stick your neck out for anyone who might need help, regardless of what they're up against?"

"There are worse uses for my talents," he said, and Ryoko couldn't help but notice a hint of darkness in his tone, "I can't save everyone in this land, but it would be wrong of me to ignore those who are right in front of me."

"Even if they're a lowly thief like me?" she said with a wink.

"Yes," he replied casually as they entered a small clearing, "Here we are."

"You think we'll be safe here?" asked Ryoko as she looked around.

Her new friend nodded. "It's out of the way. Those thugs likely won't come back this far; they'll keep their search close to the river."

Ryoko noted the remains of a campfire. "Is this where you've been staying?"

"I only arrived in this area the night before," he said, "Make yourself comfortable. I'll grab some kindling and get a fire going."

Ryoko winced as her stomach grumbled. "Any chance you can get a girl a bite to eat?"

"Meow…" whined Ryo-Ohki.

The strange swordsman nodded. "Wait here. I shouldn't be too long."

Not knowing what else to do, Ryoko settled in while Ryo-Ohki laid down in her lap. Watching the swordsman disappear through the trees, she couldn't help but wonder what had brought him out here. She was certainly grateful for his help, but if she was caught with him by the local cops it would cause trouble; the Tokyo police force took enforcing the Sword Banning Act very seriously.

 _I'm surprised this guy hasn't been arrested already_ , she thought, _Well, I definitely won't be the one to turn him in. I owe him that much for saving my neck, at least. Beside… he's kind of cute._

About an hour went by, and Ryoko was gradually growing concerned before her rescuer showed up again. There were some sticks and tree branches bundled under his left arm, while in his right hand he held three freshly caught fish.

"Sorry for the delay," he said, "I went further downstream to avoid the men from the bridge. I didn't see any of them, though, so I think we've lost them."

Ryoko smiled. "Great. So, how about you get that fire going so we can cook those fish?"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

The young man nodded. "You got it. Three cooked fish, coming right up."

Ryoko's stomach growled the whole time the fish were being cooked, and it took all of her restraint to keep from simply snatching them away from her new friend and chowing down. The wait was worth it, though; when she finally got the chance to dig in, her eyes widened at the flavor.

"Hey, not bad!" she said through a mouthful of food, "You're pretty good at this!"

"Meow…." moaned Ryo-Ohki, savoring the cooked fish on her tongue.

"I've been on the road for several years now," the stranger replied, "If I couldn't cook decent food in the wild I would've starved to death a long time ago."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "So you're a wandering swordsman, then?"

"Yes," he said, "I have been for quite some time."

"Why?" she asked, "With your moves, I bet you could land a sweet gig as a bodyguard."

"I've taken odd jobs in the past to get by," said the young man, "but only as need be. To tell you the truth, I think the road suits me."

Looking at his sword again, Ryoko's eyes narrowed as she remembered the latest scare gripping Tokyo. It seemed unlikely that it involved her new friend, but the fact that he wore a sword openly meant that she couldn't rule anything out.

"Hey," she said cautiously, slowly reaching inside her tunic to grip her kunai, "You're not… _that_ guy, are you?"

"What are you talking about?" the wanderer asked.

"There's word of a murderer that's been terrorizing Tokyo recently," said Ryoko warily, "One who's bold enough to openly carry a sword. You saved my neck, so I _want_ to trust you, but… well, I'm gonna need some proof that you're not him."

The young man sighed. "I suppose I can't fault you for being suspicion. Perhaps this will allay your concerns."

He surprised her by tossing his weapon over to her. "Draw it. That should answer your question."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow but did as he said. When the sword was fully drawn she gawked at what she saw. "What the hell? The blade's on the wrong side!"

The wanderer nodded. "Yes. It's a _sakabatō_. How many do you suppose one can kill with that?"

"Not many," she conceded as she carefully studied the weapon, "and there's hardly any wear and tear on this thing. No blood smears on it, either… it looks like it's barely been used it all."

"It's good for intimidation," said the stranger, "as long as no one actually sees the blade up close, anyway. Beyond that, I'm afraid its abilities in combat are rather limited. It's certainly not an ideal weapon for a murderer, wouldn't you agree?"

"Definitely not," said Ryoko as she passed the sword back to him, "It's proof enough for me, but…"

"Is there are problem?" asked the wanderer.

Ryoko shook her head. "It's not like that. I'm glad you're not the murderer everyone in town's so scared of, but it's just weird that you have a sword like that. I mean, what's the point? No pun intended."

The young man looked up at the night sky, and Ryoko felt like he was gazing at something other than the stars and the moon. "If there's a way to avoid taking life, is it wrong to embrace that path? There is enough bloodshed in the world as it is. I don't seek to stem the tide entirely; that's a task far beyond one man. However… I will no longer add to it."

"No longer…" said Ryoko softly, "…add to it? Who… who are you?"

A very small smile came to the young man's face. "I'm simply a wanderer. No more, and no less."

"Come on," said Ryoko, "Even wanderers have names, right? Mine's Ryoko. What's yours?"

There was a brief moment of hesitation before the wanderer gave his answer. "My name's Heero Yuy."

Ryoko smiled. "There, you see? That wasn't so hard! Nice to meet you, Heero."

The traveler nodded. "Likewise."

"So," she said, "what brings you to Tokyo?"

Heero shrugged. "It's simply where the road took me. Although… this murderer business does have me intrigued. Perhaps I'll stick around and see what's going on."

Ryoko shook her head. "You might want to pass on that. I hear he even kills police officers that come after him. This guy's no joke. I'm staying as far away from him as I can."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Have you heard anything else about him?

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"If it's a murderer this strong then he should not be allowed to roam free a moment longer," said Heero, "That goes double if he's able to kill police officers that attempt to apprehend him. If I have the ability to help bring him down, then I wish to do so."

Ryoko sighed. "Well, if that's the case, I guess I'd better tag along."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Why? It sounds like this criminal's the last person you want to be anywhere near. You're under no obligation to come with me."

Ryoko smiled. "Maybe, but I do owe you one for saving my neck back there. I figure the least I can do is help you out a little bit. Besides, you're not from around here, right? I know this town pretty well, and you're going to need a guide if you want to get around here without some inconvenient run-ins with the local cops."

Heero nodded. "If you're really willing to help, then I won't refuse. Thank you."

Ryoko winked. "Anytime, handsome!"

The young man took a bite of his fish, suddenly rather keen about avoiding eye contact with her. Ryoko giggled at the sight; who would've thought that the swordsman who'd dropped a bridge to save her could get flustered like this?

 _Aw, now that's just cute_ , she thought, _I'll definitely have to stick around now! Heero Yuy…_

 _…I think you and I can have some fun together!_

….

 **The following evening…**

"Hold it right there!" shouted Ayeka as she drew her wooden sword.

The brown-haired young man and his turquoise-haired companion turned around. Both looked rather taken aback at her command, but Ayeka was not in the mood for politeness this night. She was a bit surprised that her target had a female accomplice since all the rumors from the police were that he acted alone, and it was possible that the woman was actually a hostage, although she seemed far too relaxed for that. There was a also a strange hybrid cat-rabbit creature perched on the woman's shoulder, but while Ayeka was curious as to its origins she refused to be distracted by it. One way or the other Ayeka supposed she would find out the story of the woman and her furry companion soon enough, but right now that was of secondary importance.

"I finally found you, _Mujusai the Manslayer!_ " she declared.

"What the hell?" said the girl.

"Meow!" cried the strange creature.

The young man shook his head. "I think there's been a misunderstanding here."

"Do not lie!" Ayeka snapped, "There is no one else in the capital that would defy the law and carry a sword in plain sight, and to do so at night is all the more damning! For two months, you have murdered at will, and I shall bring your reign of terror to an end right here and now!"

The young man's companion sighed. "She's not going to listen to reason on this one. What do you want to do?"

"Stand back," he replied, "I'll handle this."

"Enough already!" shouted Ayeka as she lunged forward, "You will answer for your crimes if it's the last thing I do!"

She raised her wooden sword and brought it down hard, hoping to end the confrontation with a single decisive blow. Her opponent was too quick for her, though; he simply rolled to the side, and her weapon hit the ground.

"You're making a mistake," said her foe, "I have no desire to fight you. I'm not your target."

"Coward!" she snarled as she attacked again, "I will not let you escape!"

Her enemy sighed as he ducked beneath her strike. "Try using your head for a second. If I were the murderer you're pursuing, wouldn't I have drawn my sword by now?"

"You are a deceptive killer!" she shot back as she pressed her assault, "You are simply waiting for when you think I might lower my defenses. Sorry to disappoint you, but that will not happen!"

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" her opponent quipped as he continued to doge her attacks, "Is it really too much to ask for you to back off for one second so I can prove my innocence?"

"Save it for the police and the court, _Mujusai_!" she yelled.

They continued like this for a minute or two, her constantly trying to hit him while he kept evading her blows. Ayeka was growing frustrated, and despite her earlier protests a part of her did feel as though something was amiss here. The killer had reportedly shown no hesitation in drawing his sword when confronted in the past, so why was he refusing to draw now? Also, the young man she was fighting appeared to be rather on the slender side, but according to the police reports the murderer was supposed to be a rather large individual.

 _Now is not the time for doubts_ , she thought, _I shall bring this to an end and find my answers then!_

Her attacks had not completely been in vain; she was gradually backing him into a corner. The wall was behind him, and her enemy was running out of room to maneuver. It would just be a few more seconds before Ayeka would completely have her foe boxed in, and then she could move in to finish the fight.

"Is there nothing I can say to get you to back down?" said her target, "I'd rather not fight you."

"If you wish to avoid a fight then surrender yourself into my custody," said Ayeka.

The young man shook his head. "I can't do that."

"Then you leave me no choice!" Ayeka replied as she raised her sword for a powerful overhand attack.

She brought her weapon down hard, but her opponent drew his sword in the blink of an eye and blocked her attack. He held her back with just one hand on his sword, and Ayeka was shocked by just how effortless he made it look.

"Since you require hard proof," said the young man, "I suggest you take a good look at that sword and tell me if that's the weapon of a murderer."

She was wary about following his instructions, but her eyes went to the sword anyway. Ayeka was stunned by what she saw, and she cautiously pulled back her weapon.

"Hold on," she said, "This… this isn't right. The blade's upside down!"

"Exactly," the young man replied, "Does this look like the kind of weapon a murderer would prefer to use?"

Ayeka shook her head. "No. So… you're really not him?"

"I'm just a wandering swordsman," he said, "and this woman and her pet are my companions. None of us are directly involved with the murderer that's been terrorizing this city, although we are trying to find him."

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. "You are? Why is that?"

"To stop him," said the wanderer, "Just like you."

The woman behind him rolled her eyes. "That was his idea, not mine."

"Meow!" whined her pet.

"Hey, I said we'd help him!" the woman shot back, "It's just not my idea of a good time."

Ayeka was going to question them further when she heard the unmistakable cry of a police whistle. "They must've found him! I have to go!"

"Hold on," said the wanderer, "You shouldn't just rush in."

Ayeka disregarded him, running as fast as she could. "I know what I'm doing. This killer's reign of terror ends tonight!"

….

"Man down!" cried an officer.

"Get him out of here!" ordered Kiyone as she looked around frantically, "Damn it, where are those reinforcements? Mihoshi!"

"I'm trying!" her partner replied before blowing the whistle again, "This is as loud as I can make it go!"

 _Damn it_ , she thought as she surveyed the scene, _We're going to be in real trouble soon if we don't get some backup!_

When a runner had reported that the killer had been sighted, Kiyone had hastily gathered a group of whatever officers had been available at the time to organize pursuit. They had split up into several teams in an effort to box the criminal in, but their target was quick and powerful. Three officers had already been taken away with serious wounds, and while none had died yet tonight Kiyone knew that could change all too quickly.

"Is that all you weaklings have to offer?" her target barked, "You're pathetic!"

 _I can't believe this is really happening_ , she thought, fighting to keep her hand from trembling as she held her police saber, _I never thought I'd actually have to fight the legendary Mujusai…_

Her and her fellow officers were all of average height, but their foe absolutely dwarfed them by comparison. His face was concealed by a hood and mask, but his frame was powerful and seemed to be all muscle. Blood was dripping from the katana he held in his left hand, and Kiyone shuddered at the thought of where that blade would land next.

He chuckled as he stepped towards Kiyone. "Well, well, a woman cop, eh? Haven't killed one of those before!"

"Run, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi.

Kiyone refused to back down. "I am Detective Kiyone Makibi of the Tokyo Police! Surrender now! I have been authorized to use lethal force to take you down if necessary!"

"I'd like to see you try!" the killer replied.

Before Kiyone could respond she heard a familiar voice call out from behind her. "Stand aside! He's mine!"

"Miss Ayeka!" cried Mihoshi.

Kiyone whirled around. "Miss Ayeka, stay back! Let us handle this!"

Ayeka brushed right past her. "Not a chance. I will not allow this murderer to sully the name of my family's _Kenjutsu_ a second longer!"

 _Crap_ , thought Kiyone as Ayeka rushed towards the criminal, _She's going to get herself killed!_

"This is it, _Mujusai_!" shouted Ayeka as she leapt forwards, her wooden sword raised high.

Much to Kiyone's surprise, Ayeka actually landed a hit on the killer's shoulder. However, her blow came at a price; the target was able to cut her on her upper right arm. Ayeka remained on her feet, though, and her grip on her weapon was still tight; the wound seemed to be a shallow one.

The murderer struck at Ayeka again, but she was able to leap to the side and avoid the attack. Unfortunately, Ayeka's attempt to evade her foe only succeeded in placing a wall to her back. From the sadistic light in the killer's eyes Kiyone was sure the man was grinning beneath his mask.

"Now you're done for!" he snarled triumphantly, his blade raised high, "Take this!"

"Excuse me," said a new voice.

Kiyone's eyes widened in shock as she saw a young man suddenly rush in and sweep Ayeka off her feet. Despite his burden he moved with shocking speed and was able to get her out of the way before the murderer could attack.

"You!" cried Ayeka, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your neck," the newcomer replied calmly before glancing at the fugitive, "You're quite the risk taker, aren't you?"

"Hey, Heero!" cried another new voice, this one female, "Watch yourself over there!"

"Meow!" called a feline.

Kiyone turned around again and saw a young woman running forward with a strange cat-rabbit hybrid creature right on her heels. She'd never seen her before, but from the kunai she was holding Kiyone guessed that she intended to get in on the action.

"Stay back!" Kiyone ordered, "We're trying to apprehend a dangerous fugitive! It's too risky for you to approach!"

"If you're scared then why don't _you_ stay back?" the woman countered, "I'm not going to let him fight on his own!"

The man named Heero shook his head as he set Ayeka down. "It seems I'm surrounded by reckless women tonight. This is not how I saw my evening going."

"Why don't I help you with that by killing you?" the fugitive growled as he took a step towards the newcomer.

Heero looked up at the brute, his hand hovering over his sword but otherwise looking remarkably at ease. "Do you really think you're capable of that?"

The murderer laughed. "You've got guts, I'll give you that! Too bad for you, though; it'll cost you your life!"

Kiyone was about to step forward when she heard a most welcome sound; the cry of more police whistles. They were getting closer by the second; the reinforcements were almost there.

"Damn it!" growled the killer, "I've lingered too long. I guess it can't be helped; time to leave."

"You're not going anywhere, murderer!" Ayeka snapped, fury burning in her eyes even as she grimaced from her wound.

"Count your blessings, girl," the criminal replied as he took off, "for I am _Mujusai the Manslayer_ , master of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu!_ You got off easy tonight, but next time you won't be so lucky!"

"Get back here!" cried Ayeka before Heero stopped her.

"No," he said calmly as he held her back, "You're in no shape to fight right now. You need to get that arm taken care of."

"He's right, lady," said the other woman as she put her kunai away, "You don't got a death wish, do ya?"

"Meow!" cried the strange cat-rabbit creature.

Kiyone was torn on what to do. On the one hand, she had wounded men to attend to, but the killer was still on the loose. There was also the fact that the young man who had saved Ayeka was carrying a sword. He might've helped out this time, but she couldn't ignore the fact that he was blatantly violating the Sword Banning Act.

"Mihoshi," she said after a moment, "Make sure our wounded are taken safely back to headquarters, all right?"

Her partner nodded. "You got it!"

The reinforcements would pursue the fugitive, which left her free to attend to the matter of the swordsman standing before her. The young man's eyes were on her as she approached, and she was struck by the piercing look in them.

"Hey, Heero," said the other woman nervously, "Maybe we should get a move on."

Heero shook his head. "There's no need, Ryoko. Cooperating with the local police is the best way to bring this killer to justice."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," said Kiyone, "I'm not looking for a fight, and I do appreciate the fact that you saved Ayeka back there. However… I'm afraid that you're committing a crime at this very moment, and I can't overlook that regardless of your actions."

Heero nodded. "You're referring to the sword, correct?"

"Yes," Kiyone replied, "In light of your earlier aid, I'll offer you the chance to hand it over now. If you do that, I'll allow you to walk away and go about your business."

"That's a generous offer," said Heero, "Unfortunately it's one that I must decline. It would be rather hard to bring that murder down without my sword. He is the greater threat, officer; would it not make sense to focus our efforts on him rather than this minor indiscretion?"

Kiyone shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, and violating the Sword Banning Act is no minor indiscretion; it's a serious offense. Even if you've committed no other crime, I still cannot let it slide."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Stubborn idiot. You cops are all the same; you don't know how to pull the stick out of your ass."

"Meow!" cried her furry companion.

Ryoko smirked. "You tell her, Ryo-Ohki!"

"Officer Makibi," said Ayeka as she stepped forward, "I understand your commitment to enforcing the law, and I have nothing but respect for your devotion to your duty. However, I believe that strict adherence under these circumstances actually is detrimental. In fact, I actually believe it's quite unnecessary in light of the true nature of Heero's weapon."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "True nature? What are you talking about?"

"I believe she means this," said Heero as he drew the sword and presented it to her, "Please take a close look at the blade, officer."

Kiyone did so, and her eyes narrowed as she studied the weapon. "It's… a _sakabatō_. I've heard about these, but I've never actually see one in person. They're quite rare."

"And for good reason," said Heero as he sheathed his weapon, "After all, they're not exactly weapons of choice for most swordsmen."

"Look," said Ryoko, "The point is it's not as dangerous as a regular sword. Can't you let this one slide?"

Ayeka nodded. "Please, Officer Makibi. Surely an exception can be made under these circumstances."

Kiyone sighed. "Well… while I suppose it violates the strict letter of the law, it does not violate the spirit of it. Very well; I'll let this one go."

Heero nodded. "Thank you."

"You should be careful walking around with that, regardless," Kiyone cautioned him, "Other officers may not be as understanding as I am."

"I'll keep that in mind," Heero replied.

Kiyone looked around as Mihoshi and the other officers began carrying off the wounded. "This is a mess. I thought we had him this time."

"At least no one was killed tonight," said Heero, "Your officers' wounds do not look life threatening."

Kiyone nodded. "I hope you're right. Still… my superiors aren't going to be happy about this."

"How come you guys haven't caught this creep already?" asked Ryoko, "I mean I get it, he's tough, but you're the police; you guys should be able to take him down with sheer numbers!"

Kiyone shook her head. "It's not that simple. Our officers are spread out all over the capital. Whenever he strikes it's with little to no warning, so we can't effectively concentrate our forces."

"Why not use firearms?" asked Heero, "The police have access to them, do they not?"

"Only certain officers are permitted to carry firearms," Kiyone replied, "The rest only have sabers or staves. Besides, with the way he keeps getting the jump on our officers, I don't think firearms would do us a whole lot of good unless we were able to overwhelm him."

"Do you have any clues as to who this guy really is?" asked Ryoko, "I mean, he wears a mask, so he clearly doesn't want his face to be known, but there can't be a lot of people in town who are as big as he is."

Kiyone sighed. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find any solid leads on that front. If people do know, they've been keeping their mouths shut out of fear of retribution from him. I really can't say I blame for that."

"Has he displayed any patterns?" asked Heero, his eyes narrowing, "Is there a signature style that he commits his crimes with?"

"He tends to target police officers," said Kiyone, "and they're always ones that are armed with sabers. My guess is that he wants to prove his superiority to them when it comes to swordsmanship. He strikes at either single officers or small patrols and bails before reinforcements can arrive to cut off his escape."

"That is not all," Ayeka added grimly, "At the end of every encounter he makes the same atrocious lie; that he uses the _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_. However, a man who commits such crimes cannot make the claim that he uses that style with any ounce of credibility."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure of that?"

Ayeka sighed. "I'll explain later. We've lingered here long enough."

Kiyone nodded. "I suggest you all head home for the night. The killer is still out there, and I don't want any of you to run into him. That goes double for you, Ayeka; you're in no condition to fight with that wound."

"This is just a scratch!" Ayeka snapped, "I'm quite fine, thank you very much!"

Her subsequent pained wince undermined her assertion, and Heero was the first to jump on it. "Your face and the way you grasp that wound say otherwise. Let's get you home. I know a thing or two about dressing wounds from blades."

Ayeka studied him carefully before replying. "Very well… and thank you."

"Be careful on your way back," said Kiyone, "If you spot anyone suspicious, don't chase after them; report it to the police! You got that?"

Heero nodded. "Understood."

"Don't worry about me," said Ryoko as she yawned, "I'm in no mood for a fight right now."

"Meow…" cried Ryo-Ohki, looking just as tired as her partner.

Ayeka sighed. "Very well. Why don't you come with me, Heero? The least I can do is give you a place to stay for the night."

"Thanks," he replied.

"Hey," said Ryoko, "That offer better include Ryo-Ohki and I too!"

"Since it seems you're currently traveling with him, I suppose it would be rude to refuse you lodgings," said Ayeka reluctantly, "However… you have an ill look about you. If I catch you stealing anything I'll throw you right back out on the street, you got that?"

Ryoko folded her arms. "Whatever."

 _Glad that's taken care of_ , thought Kiyone, _I'd better get back to headquarters and check on the wounded. It's going to be a long night…_

….

Ryoko whistled as they walked through the courtyard. "Wow, so you own this dojo? Nice place you've got here."

"Thank you for letting us stay the night, Ayeka," said Heero.

Ayeka nodded and smiled. "Well, it's the very least I could do for you after the assistance you provided to me earlier. I apologize for attacking you before; it's clear to me now that you could never be the murderer that's been terrorizing this city."

Heero shook his head. "I already told you not to worry about it. Let's get inside; we need to get that wound properly cleaned and bandaged."

"There's a first aid kit in the main hall of the dojo," said Ayeka, "Please, follow me."

As soon as she opened the door she heard the familiar cry of her younger sister. "Ayeka! You're home!"

Ayeka smiled as she embraced Sasami. "It's good to be back, Sasami. You know, you really should be asleep at this hour."

Sasami shook her head. "I tried, but I couldn't fall asleep. I was so worried about… oh no, you're hurt!"

"It's all right, Sasami," Ayeka quickly reassured her, "Trust me; it's not as bad as it looks."

"It can still get infected!" Sasami protested, "We need to get it treated right away!"

"That's something I can help with," said Heero as he stepped forward, "I just need materials to work with first."

Sasami nodded. "Wait right here; I'll grab the first aid kit!"

She rushed off before Ayeka could stop her. Pressing against her wound again, Ayeka led the others inside and took a seat on a nearby mat as she waited for her younger sister.

Off to the side she saw Heero studying the sign hanging on the far wall. " _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_ dojo. 'Let your sword give life rather than take it'… interesting. This is the dojo's school of thought, I take it?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. It was my father's belief, and he desired for it to be the central precept of his style. Perhaps it is fortunate that he is not here today to witness the stain this murderer has brought to its name."

"What happened to him?" asked Ryoko, "Your old man, I mean."

Ayeka sighed. "A year ago he was drafted into the army for the Seinan War. He… he did not survive."

"Which is why you need to be more careful!" Sasami gently admonished her as she returned with the first aid kit.

"I agree with you there," said Heero, "Mind if I take that?"

Sasami nodded and handed it to him. "Sure. Thanks for helping out!"

"Anytime," Heero replied before kneeling next to Ayeka and pulling back the sleeve of her robe, "This shouldn't take too long; the cut's quite shallow."

Sasami smiled. "Thank goodness!"

Ayeka could not help but study her guest intently as he methodically cleaned her wound. Now that she had a chance to see him up close and wasn't running on adrenaline, she was struck by the sharp look in his eyes as he treated her injury. He was as calm as he had been in their initial encounter, but his gaze had an incredibly keen focus to it as it honed in on her wound. He was clearly no amateur at treating cuts from blades, and Ayeka had to wonder just where he had picked up such experience in emergency first aid.

In addition to her general curiosity regarding him, now that she had a good opportunity to take in his appearance as a whole she quickly realized that he was a rather handsome individual. He might've been a bit on the slender side, but there was no denying that his build was an athletic one, and he had already demonstrated considerable physical prowess with how he had managed to scoop her up and get her away from the street killer before he could strike her. Before long she found herself blushing as she watched him dress her wound, and she quickly averted her gaze before he caught her staring.

 _What's gotten into me?_ , she thought, _I just met him, and this is hardly the time or the place to be ogling him!_

She felt something nudge her leg, and as she looked down she saw Ryo-Ohki next to her. "Is there something I can do for you, little one?"

"Don't mind her," said Ryoko, "She's just being friendly. She probably wants to make sure that you're okay."

Ayeka couldn't help but smile as she reached down to pet the adorable furball with her free hand. "You're a sweet little thing, aren't you? I'm quite all right, although your concern is much appreciated."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Aw, look at her!" cried Sasami as she knelt next to Ayeka, "She's so cute! Ayeka, where did you find her?"

"She's with me," said Ryoko.

Sasami smiled. "Is it okay if I pet her?"

"Go ahead," Ryoko replied, "She'll get a kick out of it. Hell, if you give her food she'll probably fall in love with you. She's easy to bribe."

Sasami grinned. "In that case, I'll be right back!"

 _Oh, dear_ , thought Ayeka as Sasami ran off, _I do hope she doesn't go overboard here…_

"If you don't mind me asking," said Heero, "How long have you been training in the art of the sword?"

Ayeka was a little taken aback by the question, but she answered all the same. "Since I was a young girl. My father didn't want to teach me at first, but I kept pestering him until he finally agreed."

Heero nodded. "I see. So, would I be correct in assuming the style you use is the same one he practiced?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. This is the style that he founded, and I will do all I can to make sure that it lives on. It is the best way for me to honor his memory."

"Even if that means risking your neck trying to take down guys like that street killer?" asked Ryoko, "I don't know a whole lot about being a family, but I'm pretty sure your old man wouldn't want you doing that."

Ayeka sighed. "I have no choice. That monster is sullying the name of the style my father dedicated his life to building. Ever since these killings started and the murderer has proclaimed himself a master of our martial art we've been losing students, and with them the membership dues they pay. If this keeps up we'll eventually lose all of our income, and I'll have no choice but to sell the dojo."

She saw Heero's eyes narrow. "I wonder… could that be what they're really after?"

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Heero shook his head. "It's nothing."

Sasami returned a second later with a basket of carrots in her arms. "Let's see if you like these, little one!"

Ryo-Ohki's eyes practically bulged out of her head as Sasami set the basket on the floor. Without hesitation, the strange creature dived right in and began chowing down, with little bits of carrot flying everywhere as a result.

Ayeka couldn't help but giggle at the sight. "Well, it seems we've found her favorite food. My, my, look at her go!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki between bites.

Ryoko smiled. "Like I said, she's easy to please."

"There we go," said Heero, bringing Ayeka's attention back to his work, "All done."

Ayeka gingerly ran her fingers over her bandaged arm. "Thank you very much for that. I must say, you're quite good at this."

"You should still take it easy for a while," Heero cautioned her, "It would be pretty easy for that wound to reopen. Lay off the night patrols for a few days, all right?"

Ayeka shook her head. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm afraid that I cannot do that. I must do everything in my power to bring this killer's reign of terror to an end!"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Damn you're stubborn, you know that?

"I'm simply doing what must be done!" Ayeka shot back, "My father will not be able to rest in peace until this matter is brought to a close!"

"But he wouldn't want you to keep getting yourself hurt like this!" Sasami protested, "Ayeka, you're being too reckless!"

"I understand your desire to bring this man to justice," said Heero, "However, it means nothing if you get yourself killed in the process."

"I'm not afraid to risk my life to remove the stain this monster has brought to the honor of my father's martial art!" Ayeka snapped, "I shall not rest until this killer has been apprehended!"

Ryoko shook her head. "Heero, I don't think she's going to listen to reason here."

Heero sighed. "Since you seem quite set on this, how about a compromise?"

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. "I'm listening."

"Going after this man alone would be reckless to the point of suicidal," said Heero, "More to the point, there is only so much ground that you can cover by yourself. In light of this, the most logical move would be for us to join forces."

Ayeka blinked. "You mean that you wish to aid me in my hunt for this murderer?"

Heero nodded. "Yes."

"Admit it," said Ryoko, "you could use a hand, and the police aren't exactly doing a bang-up job here. I'm not exactly thrilled about this, but… well, the sooner we deal with this guy the better."

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me if this sounds rude, but what interest do you have in this matter? For me it's a personal affair, while for the police it's a matter of public safety. Your stake in this crisis isn't as readily apparent."

Ryoko chuckled as she jerked her thumb at Heero. "This guy's a big softy; he doesn't like murderers running around. As for me… well, I owe Heero one, so if he wants to help you out then I guess I'll be coming along for the ride."

"If the three of us coordinator our efforts, we can handle this much more effectively and reduce the risk to ourselves in the process," said Heero, "Also… I would be lying if I said that there was no material aspect involved here."

"What do you mean?" asked Ayeka.

"We need a place to stay while we're in town hunting for this man," Heero replied, "and neither of us have the funds necessary to pay for lodgings."

"We wouldn't have that problem if I hadn't lost my loot when you broke that bridge," Ryoko quipped.

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "You broke a bridge? Am I missing something here?"

"It's an unrelated matter," said Heero, "Don't worry about it. So, is it all right if we stay here until this matter is brought to a close?"

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. If you truly are willing to help me bring this man down and restore the good name of my father's martial art, then I will gladly host you."

Heero bowed. "Thank you."

Ayeka smiled. "You're quite welcome."

"Yay!" cried Sasami with a grin, "It's been so long since we've had guests! This is going to be so much fun!"

"Now, now, Sasami," Ayeka chided her younger sister, "Let's not get carried away here."

"Sorry, kid," said Ryoko, "We're not here to play around with you."

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki protested.

Ryoko folded her arms. "Hey, don't argue with me! Sure, _you_ get to pig out and lounge around, but Heero and I have work to do!"

"Work that we can attend to in the morning," said Heero, "For now, I think we've all had enough excitement for one night."

Ayeka yawned. "Agreed. I'll prepare beds for the both of you. I rise early, so I hope you are prepared to do the same; I will not rest a moment longer than I have to until this killer is brought down."

Heero nodded. "I understand. We'll be ready."

….

 **The next day…**

"So many people," said Heero as he and Ryoko walked through the market, with Ryo-Ohki perched on the latter's shoulder, "This might be harder than I anticipated."

"Meow…" murmured Ryo-Ohki as she scanned the crowd.

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "You really have been out in the sticks for a while, huh? This is the capital; of course it's gonna be crowded. That's probably part of why the police have had so much trouble looking for this guy."

Heero nodded. "True. We've been at this all morning but haven't found any solid leads. Since we know so little about our target it's difficult to determine the best areas to conduct our search in. A city as large and densely populated as this one offers plenty of opportunities for concealment, even for a man as large as the one we're hunting."

Ryoko sighed. "Man, my feet are killing me! Can we rest for like five minutes?"

Much to her relief her companion nodded. "That's fine. How about over there?"

Following his gaze, Ryoko saw a stone bench situated in the shade provided by a handful of cherry trees. "That works."

After taking a seat they scanned the crowd, searching for any sign of their prey. Ryoko highly doubted that the man they were looking for would be so bold as to stroll about in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded market, but it was hard to say for sure. The killer had worn a mask during the encounter the night before, so it was always possible that they might believe no one would recognize them as the killer if they went without the mask during the day.

"Got any ideas?" asked Heero.

Ryoko shook her head. "If you mean any ideas on where the big guy from last night is, not really. I'm just a thief; I tend to stay away from guys that kill to get their kicks."

"I wanted to ask you about that, by the way," said Heero, "Why do you lead the life that you do? Is there really no other way for you to make a living?"

Ryoko studied him carefully. She was expecting to see a judgmental look in his eyes, but to her surprise there was nothing remotely like that in his gaze. He seemed genuinely curious more than anything else; he really wanted to know more about her.

After a moment, she smiled. "Well, I guess there's no harm in telling you. There's not a whole lot to it, really. My parents abandoned me when I was kid. I don't really know why. I was in the slums, so maybe they were just too poor to take care of a kid. It was just me and Ryo-Ohki from then on, and stealing was the only way to survive. I kept with it, and I got good at it, and it just wound up being the way I get from one day to the next without starving to death."

Heero nodded. "I can understand that. Still, there must've been at least a chance for you to try your hand at a different trade."

Ryoko shrugged. "Sure, but every time it ended up the same; they found out that  
I was a thief and they showed me the door. People talk a big game about making an honest living, but they're not exactly willing to help others do so if they've already been on the other side of the tracks."

"That's true," said Heero, "Many people aren't willing to give others a second chance. I wish it were otherwise."

Ryoko smiled. "Well, you are, aren't you? I mean, you stuck your neck out for me even though I'm a thief."

She was glad to see him smile in return, even if it was just a small one. "Yes, although I'm afraid I can't offer you much beyond that. In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a lot of money, so I can't really employ you and give you a chance at making an honest living."

"Maybe not directly," said Ryoko with a smirk, "but there are other ways you can help a girl out here."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Think about it," she replied, "With all the resources the police are devoting to catch this guy, I bet they'll offer a reward if we take him down first! What do you say you and I split that fifty-fifty?"

" _If_ the police are offering such a reward, I would be open to that," said Heero, "However, we don't know if there's any sort of bounty being put up for this man's capture."

"Why don't we fix that?" said Ryoko as she spotted a pair of familiar officers, "We can ask them."

It was the two women officers from the night before, Kiyone and Mihoshi. They had just come into view, and from where Ryoko was sitting it looked like they were canvassing the market just like she and Heero had been earlier.

Heero shrugged and stood up. "I suppose it can't hurt. Let's go find out."

Ryoko followed suit and waved down the cops. "Hey, there! How's it going?"

Kiyone's eyes widened as the two of them approached. "You… from the other night!"

"Hi!" chirped Mihoshi, "How are you?"

"Doing well, thank you," said Heero with a small nod, "Yourself?"

Mihoshi yawned. "A little sleepy. We stayed up so late last night working."

Kiyone sighed. "Not the first time that's happened since this killer started his attacks. If we don't bring him down soon it'll mean more than just more dead bodies; we're going to have officers suffering burnout from all the extra hours we're putting into hunting this guy."

"How are the wounded doing?" asked Heero.

Kiyone smiled. "They'll make it. We really got lucky this time."

"No kidding," said Mihoshi, "I'm so glad they're going to be okay!"

Heero nodded. "Same here."

Ryoko shook his head. "I don't get it. Why the hell is this guy targeting cops? If he kills just to get his kicks then there are easier targets for him to go after. I know you said last night that he was doing it to prove how strong he was, but that can't be all there is to it."

"That's one of the things we've been trying to figure out," said Kiyone, "I do have one theory."

Ryoko saw Heero's eyes narrow. "What would that be?"

"Every time he attacks, he always brags about being a master of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_ ," Kiyone replied, "Not one time that we know of has he not mentioned it. This can't be coincidental."

Ryoko shrugged. "Maybe he's just bragging because he wants people to know how strong his fighting style has made him. He seemed like the arrogant type, after all."

"It's possible that it's nothing more than boasting," Kiyone admitted, "but that doesn't really sit right with me. That's why I think there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean, Kiyone?" asked Mihoshi.

Kiyone's eyes narrowed. "I don't have any proof, but this seems like a concentrated effort to smear the name of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_. When these attacks first began we naturally questioned Ayeka since she's the heir of that dojo, and she completely refuted any notion that the killer was a former student or anything of that nature. I want to believe her, but the consistent mentioning of the style's name by the killer does suggest a link of some sort."

"I'm inclined to believe Ayeka as well," said Heero, "From what little I understand, these killings directly contradict the precepts of her dojo's fighting style. The school makes no secret about what its particular martial art stands for, so any student looking for a style for the sake of power would likely disregard it and search out another dojo. Still, you're right about the consistency of the name dropping by the killer suggesting a link of some sort. The question then becomes this; who would want to bring shame to the name of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_?"

"Maybe her old man had some enemies back in the day," Ryoko suggested, "Maybe this guy's some thug that he beat in a fight and wants payback. Since the master died in the Seinan War, he might be taking his grudge out on the school itself."

Kiyone nodded. "That's plausible, but the problem is that I can't find any leads to support it. It's the same with the rest of the force; everything we chase down just leads to a dead end. After two months of this you'd think that we'd catch a break of some kind, but we've got a whole lot of nothing."

"It's horrible!" moaned Mihoshi, "This guy's attacking officers and we can't do anything about it!"

"So, beyond theories of motive, we really have nothing that leads us closer to the identity of our prey," said Heero grimly, "It's an uphill fight however you look at it."

"This sucks," groaned Ryoko, "At this rate we'll be playing detective forever!"

"You're under no obligation to help us," said Kiyone, "In fact, for your own safety it would be better if you stayed out of this affair and left it to the professionals."

Ryoko shook her head and jerked her thumb at Heero. "No can do, officer. As long as he's in on this hunt, then I'm along for the ride."

"Something will turn up," said Heero, and Ryoko was surprised by the calm certainty in his voice, "There has to be something that we're overlooking. As soon as we find it we can bring this matter to a close."

Kiyone smiled wearily. "I'd like to think so, but we've got our work cut out for us. If you really insist on helping out, then I won't stop you. We need all the manpower we can get, whether it be official or otherwise. Just promise me that you'll be careful, all right? There's already been enough bloodshed in this case."

"Trust me," said Ryoko, "I don't plan on letting this guy take me down."

"That makes two of us," said Heero.

Kiyone nodded. "In that case, the two of us need to get back to our patrol. Try to keep a low profile, okay? I'll pass the word around to the other officers to ignore the fact that you have a sword, but they might not all get the message, and there are some hotheads who could try to goad you into a fight just to test their skills."

"I'll keep that in mind," Heero replied.

"Good luck!" chirped Mihoshi, "Please let us know if you find anything!"

"Hey!" called Ryoko, "Before you go, you gotta tell me something; is there a reward out for anyone who helps bring this guy down?"

Kiyone nodded. "Yes, but only if they provide information that leads to the successful apprehension of the killer, so please don't come to us with just any random tidbit of gossip; we've got enough of those to sort through already."

"Understood," Heero replied, "Take care."

"You as well," said Kiyone.

Ryoko grinned as the two cops took off. "Well, now we know; there's money to be had here!"

"Only if we're able to get a solid lead, though," said Heero, "We're quite a ways off from that right now."

Ryoko sighed. "Right. So, what now? Any bright ideas?"

"Why don't we look for Ayeka?" he suggested, "It would be good to catch up with her so we can compare notes. Perhaps she's found something that we've missed."

Ryoko nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's go track her down. Wait… where exactly do we find her? I mean, she left the dojo about the same time we did this morning."

"She mentioned that she was going to be concentrating her efforts down at the docks today," said Heero, "She thought the killer might be hiding out in one of the buildings where they store goods that are fresh off the ships."

Ryoko winced. "Ugh, not the docks! It smells like raw fish all over the place down there!"

"Nevertheless, if we wish to meet up with Ayeka, that's our destination," said Heero firmly, "Let's move."

Ryoko nodded. "All right, fine. Come on, Ryo-Ohki!"

"Meow!" her furry companion replied.

….

"Really?" said Ayeka, her eyes widening, "Are you sure?"

The lead dockworker nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely. We've had shipments get robbed up that way a few times over the past few weeks now, and the survivors mentioned the bandits were led by this big guy with a sword."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. Do you have any other information?"

The man shook his head. "Just that and the general area, I'm afraid. Sorry I can't be of more help, miss."

Ayeka shook her head and smiled. "Oh, please, don't worry about it. You've done more than enough already. Thank you so much!"

"Sure thing," the dockhand replied, looking a little concerned, "Still… you really shouldn't get mixed up with the people out that way, miss. They're not a good crowd."

"You needn't worry about me," said Ayeka as she turned to go, "I can take care of myself."

The slight ache coming from her wound undermined her argument somewhat, but Ayeka shrugged it off. After months of searching, she finally had a lead. Granted, it was a pretty vague one, and she couldn't act on it by herself, but it was still better than nothing.

 _At last_ , she thought, _progress! I must go inform the others!_

She wondered if they had found any new clues during their time in the market. If she was lucky they'd be able to combine what they had learned today and use it to take down the killer once and for all. The thought of finally clearing the good name of her family's martial art drove her forward, so much so that she was barely paying attention when she rounded a corner and wound up colliding with none other than Ryoko.

"Hey, watch… oh, it's you," grumbled the thief.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"That was easier than I thought it'd be," said Heero, "I was afraid we'd have to spend all afternoon combing the docks looking for you."

"Why have you come down here?" asked Ayeka, "I thought you were still at the market."

"We ran into some of the officers from last night," said Heero, "They've got a theory about the person behind these attacks, and we wanted to see if you found any information that might back that up."

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "Really? What did you find out?"

"Can we do this somewhere else?" asked Ryoko, holding her nose and wincing, "Seriously, how do you deal with the smell down here, Ayeka?"

Ayeka had actually ignored it up to this point since she had been so focused on finding information, but now that Ryoko brought it up she was forced to agree; the docks had a very strong odor about them.

"Very well," she said, "Let's head back towards the market for now. I do still need to run a few errands before returning to the dojo for the night."

It didn't take them too long to get clear of the docks and begin making their way towards the market. Along the way Ayeka listened as the two of them relayed to her the conversation they'd had with Kiyone and Mihoshi.

"So," said Heero, "what do you think?"

"Well," Ayeka replied, "It's certainly interesting. The idea that this murderer is someone with a grudge against our dojo has crossed my mind before, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out who it might be. I went through all the old student rolls just to be safe, but none of them strike me as the kind who would engage in this kind of barbarity just to settle some score with our school."

Heero nodded. "I thought as much."

"So much for that lead," Ryoko grumbled.

"Maybe not," said Heero, "The student roster might be a bust, but what about your father's acquaintances? I'm sure the police already asked you about this, but did he have any enemies?"

Ayeka shook her head. "No, or at least none who would resort to this level of savagery. He had a few contemporary rivals, but that's true of any dojo master, and any differences between them were nothing that couldn't be settled by a simple training bout or two."

"What about you?" asked Heero, "You seem pretty active in the community, at least if your pursuit of this man is any indication. Do you help the police chase criminals on a regular basis? The culprit might be someone who has a history with you rather than your father."

"I'm afraid not," Ayeka replied, "After father passed away I've mostly tended to the dojo and looking after my sister. The only reason I've involved myself in this manhunt is because this killer brought the name of my father's martial art into this mess."

Ryoko sighed. "Well, I'm lost. If it's not out of a personal grudge, then I've got no idea why this crazy son of a bitch is involving your dojo in his killings."

"It does make the question of motive much more difficult to ascertain," said Heero with a contemplative look, "We'll have to come at this from another direction."

"Any bright ideas?" asked Ryoko.

Heero shook his head. "Not yet."

Ayeka smiled as she spotted the market just up the street. "Don't worry about it right now. We'll have plenty of time to brainstorm tonight after dinner. I'm sure the information I found today will help with that."

A few moments later they were in the center of the bustling market place. Ayeka spent a couple of minutes looking around the food stalls when her eyes widened as she spotted a familiar figure in the distance. It was an elderly gentleman, and he wasn't alone; there were three men with him, and judging from the way they carried themselves Ayeka guessed that they were his bodyguards.

"Oh, dear," she said softly, "Not him."

"What's wrong?" asked Heero.

"Well, well," said the squat old man that Ayeka had spotted, casually approaching her, "Isn't this a pleasant surprise! It's nice to see you, Ayeka."

"Kihei," said Ayeka, giving him a curt nod, "What brings you out here?"

Kihei smiled. "Oh, just some minor errands, I assure you. I certainly had not planned on bumping into you today, Miss Ayeka. That being said, now that we're here…"

Ayeka's eyes narrowed. "I know where you're going with this, and my answer remains the same, Kihei. I will not sell."

Kihei shook his head. "So eager to dismiss without even hearing my new offer? It's quite a generous one, I assure you, and that's even in light of your recent misfortunes."

"My answer is no!" Ayeka snapped, "That has not and will not ever change!"

Kihei's eyes narrowed. "Stubbornness is unbecoming of a lovely young woman such as yourself, Miss Ayeka. Then again, so is swordsmanship. Really, now, I'm sure your father didn't want you to live in such hardship. Trying to carry on his school is an admirable way to attempt to honor his memory, but you could do so much better in life."

"I have made my choice," said Ayeka firmly, "It will not change."

"I don't know what's going on here," said Ryoko as she folded her arms, "but pushy guys like you really rub me the wrong way. She said no, so take a hike gramps!"

Kihei shook his head. "Such intransigence… the time will come when you wished you had been more flexible, Miss Ayeka. Do not say that I did not warn you."

"If you are going to resort to threats," said Heero as his hand hovered over his sword, "then you have no further business here. Leave us and go about your business."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" said one of the bodyguards as he stepped forward.

"Look at this," said the second one, nodding at Heero's sword, "Someone's ballsy… or an idiot."

"You think just because you've got the guts to wear a sword out in the open means you can talk to our employer like that?" said the third, glaring at Heero, "You've got another thing coming, pal."

"Now, now," said Kihei, "There's no need for such hostility here. I'm sure this young man means no offense."

"You can take my meaning however you please," Heero quipped, and Ayeka was taken aback by the chilly edge in his voice, "Your business with Ayeka is done here. Move along."

Kihei chuckled. "Well, well… did you go and hire a bodyguard in your hour of need, Miss Ayeka? I'm surprised that you can afford one given your current state of affairs."

"I'm not on her payroll," said Heero as he glared at Kihei, "but I must insist that you be on your way regardless."

Kihei sighed. "Very well, then. Until next time, Miss Ayeka."

"What was that about?" asked Ryoko as the old man and his retinue walked off.

"Meow, meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, shaking her head.

Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, I know. I don't like the look of him either."

Ayeka sighed. "That was Kihei. He's a landowner whose holdings include several of the properties surrounding the dojo."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "So it's the dojo he wants you to sell, then. He was pushing pretty hard for it."

"He says the land it's on is quite valuable," said Ayeka, "I can certainly see why men like him would want to see something other than a swordsmanship school built there, but I have no intention of letting him have it. That dojo is not only the home of Sasami and I, but it is all we have left of our father. Its value transcends that of mere money."

She saw Heero's brow furrow even further. "Money… could it really be that simple?"

"What's up, Heero?" asked Ryoko.

Rather than answer her, he turned to Ayeka. "Earlier you mentioned that you found some information. Let's have it."

Ayeka was a bit taken aback by his sudden assertiveness, but she nodded all the same. "Well, one of the dock foremen mentioned how some of the goods they bring in get shipped by horse to the next town over. Apparently, some of those shipments have been occasionally waylaid by groups of bandits over the past few weeks, and those bandits are led by a large man with a sword. Their description was vague, but it sounds like this could be our culprit."

"Did they give you anything else?" asked Heero.

"Yes," Ayeka replied, "They said that it's rumored this man and his associated thugs are based out of a dojo called _Kiheikan_ on the outskirts of that town."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "A dojo?"

"Well, more like an ex-dojo nowadays, from what I understand," said Ayeka, "Apparently it's now a gathering place for all sorts of nasty criminals. Supposedly a former samurai took it over a few months ago. Descriptions regarding him are vague as well, but his height and frame are constantly mentioned as being significantly larger than normal, so there is a chance that this samurai could be the man we seek."

"It sounds like these murders started shortly after this samurai took over the dojo," said Heero.

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. The timeline fits, and there are not many men of that size who are as skilled with a sword as our culprit is. I have no proof as of yet, but I believe it's worth checking out."

"I agree," said Heero, "We certainly have no other leads to go on at the moment."

"So, what are we waiting for?" asked Ryoko, "Let's go check it out!"

Ayeka shook her head. "I intend to, but not today. There are some things I must purchase before returning to the dojo for the evening. Besides, a place like _Kiheikan_ is not somewhere that should be approached casually. This will require careful preparation."

"Your restraint is prudent," said Heero, "Especially considering that your arm hasn't completely healed yet."

Ayeka sighed. "Believe me, I'm sorely tempted to rush over there right now. However, I have Sasami to think of as well. Acting rashly will do her no good. Besides, I told her this morning that I would not do anything reckless today. I do not wish to worry her."

"In that case," said Heero, "I'll catch up with you later. There's an errand of my own that I need to run."

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "An errand? What sort?"

"Nothing major," Heero replied as he took off, "I'll see you later tonight."

"Hey!" yelled Ryoko as she went after him, "Wait for me!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

 _How odd_ , she thought as she watched the three of them disappear into the crowd, _I don't recall him mentioning any other matters he had to attend to today. I wonder what it could be…_

….

"So, this is _Kiheikan_ ," said Heero, "It looks like it's seen better days."

Ryoko nodded. "I'll say. It's a total dump!"

 _Well_ , she thought, _that might be taking a bit far; I've seen worse places than this. Still, it's definitely not a place for nice people, at the very least._

The old dojo was very rundown, and its current occupants couldn't seem to be bothered with anything more than the bare minimum as far as upkeep was concerned. There were no sentries, but the jumble of male voices coming from just beyond the rickety old door told Ryoko that the place was definitely occupied.

"Hey," she said as she glanced nervously at Heero, "Are you sure about this? This isn't like when we first met; there's no bridge for you to bust if we need to make a quick getaway."

"Meow…" murmured Ryo-Ohki.

"We'll be fine," said Heero calmly, "However, if you wish to wait outside, I'll understand completely."

Ryoko shook her head. "Tempting, but I'm going in there with you. After all, I still owe you for saving my neck. I wouldn't be able to pay you back on that if I sat out here while you walked in there by yourself."

Heero nodded. "In that case, let's introduce ourselves."

He then knocked on the door. "Hello. Is anyone home?"

A few moments later a grungy-looking man opened the door. A cigarette was in his mouth, and from the very strong body odor coming off him Ryoko didn't even want to try to guess the last time he'd bathed.

"What the hell do you want?" he growled.

"Is the sensei available?" asked Heero.

The man scowled. "Master Hiruma is out! Come back later!"

Heero folded his arms. "So, it's 'Master Hiruma', is it? How interesting…"

"What's it to ya?" the thug spat.

Ryoko saw Heero's eyes narrow. "I was under the impression that the master was the _Mujusai_."

The man's face paled. "How'd you…?"

"So, her suspicions were on the mark," Heero muttered, "Teaming up with her was the right way to go about this after all."

"Yo, Nishiwaki!" a male voice called from behind the man at the door, "What's going on over there?"

The man looked over his shoulder. "You guys better get out here. We've got a punk and a wench asking questions about the Master!"

Heero and Ryoko took a step back as several men came out of the dojo. They were all armed, mostly with common weapons like knives, poles and clubs, but a few among them had katanas as well. On her shoulder, Ryo-Ohki hissed at the assembled thugs, and Ryoko reached into her tunic and pulled out her kunai.

 _Crap_ , she thought, _there are at least a dozen of them. Not good…_

"I don't know who you two think you are," said Nishiwaki, "but you've poked your noses where they don't belong."

"We're not here for a fight," said Heero, "Only for information. If you choose to attack us, however, you will regret it."

One of the men laughed. "You've got some nerve, you scrawny prick!"

"What do we do about them, Nishiwaki?" asked another.

Nishiwaki drew his sword. "We get rid of them. Now."

Ryoko tensed, but Heero still looked remarkably casual as his hand went down to his sword. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't really seen him fight before; the closest they'd gotten to that was when he'd dropped the bridge to help them escape from the Yakuza. There was also the incident from the nighttime encounter with the killer, but apart from sweeping Ayeka off her feet and getting her away from the murderer he hadn't really done anything that demonstrated serious martial prowess.

Did he seriously think that he could take them all?

"I'll give you one last chance," said Heero, "Back down now or suffer the consequences."

Nishiwaki smirked. "Get him."

As the thugs approached Ryoko saw Heero's eyes narrow, and his gaze took on a frigid edge. "So be it."

….

Ayeka's eyes narrowed as she studied her teacup. "A crack? When did that get there?"

"You were probably holding it too tight, Ayeka," said Sasami from across the table.

Ayeka sighed. "Yes… you're probably right."

 _Damn this whole situation_ , she silently fumed, _I've gotten so high strung from this affair that I'm taking it out on my dinnerware now… this can't come to an end soon enough._

"It sure is getting late," said Sasami, "I hope Heero, Ryoko, and Ryo-Ohki are okay."

Ayeka nodded. "As do I."

Ayeka had to admit that she was growing worried about her temporary guests, or at least one of them at any rate. Heero had sounded casual when he'd mentioned his errand, but he'd been gone an awfully long time now. She couldn't imagine where he might be at this hour.

 _He left right after I mentioned Kiheikan_ , she thought with growing trepidation, _Oh, dear… I hope he hasn't done something rash._

It was tempting to go out now and search for him, but Ayeka could not do that. She still had responsibilities for both her sister and the dojo, and at this hour that meant that she wasn't going anywhere. She still had some cleaning to do before she could call it a night, and she didn't want to give Sasami further cause for concern; she'd worried enough since this string of murders had begun.

There was a sudden knock at the door, causing both Ayeka and Sasami to jump.

"Do you think it's them?" asked Sasami.

Ayeka stood up. "I'll go check. Wait here."

Just to be on the safe side, she grabbed one of the wooden swords from the racks along the wall. She doubted she would need it, but it was best to be safe at this time of night.

 _If it's not them_ , she thought, _the whoever this is has a very poor since of timing. I hate to come across to someone as rude, but if this is some traveling salesmen come calling at this hour then I may well snap at them._

When she opened the door she was sorely tempted to give the person she saw a swift whack on the head; it was none other than Kihei. The smug smile on her face was absolutely repulsive to her, and to make matters worse he was not alone. Not only were the three bodyguards from earlier with him, but she counted several more as well. There had to be at least a dozen men with him.

"Ah, Miss Ayeka!" said Kihei, "It's such a lovely night out, wouldn't you agree?"

Ayeka glared at him. "Kihei… what business do you have with me at this hour?"

"Come now, Miss Ayeka," said Kihei, "Do you really have to ask?"

"I suppose not," said Ayeka, struggling to keep a cool head, "but we already discussed this at the market earlier. I knew you were persistent, but this marks a new low even by your standards. If you keep this up I will have no choice but to report you to the police for harassment!"

Kihei shook his head. "I can assure you that there will be no need for that, especially not after tonight. I do hope that you keep some sake on the premises, Ayeka, for tonight is an occasion that is certainly worth raising a cup to!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ayeka, not liking one bit where this was going.

Kihei smiled again. "Why don't you let us come inside first? It's ill-form to discuss such matters on the front porch, wouldn't you say?"

Before Ayeka could object two of Kihei's bodyguards pushed their way forward. She swiftly found herself elbowed aside as the men entered her dojo, followed by their master.

"Ah, it's in such lovely condition!" said Kihei as he studied the main hall, "It's a good thing that I've kept the other major landholders in town away from this property; they'd be itching to buy it after seeing this."

"I would give them the same answer that I have given you," said Ayeka, her temper rapidly approaching the boiling point, "This property is not for sale, Kihei!"

"Yes, yes," said Kihei dismissively, "However, I'm afraid the paperwork has already been filed."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "That's preposterous!"

"Oh, on the contrary," said Kihei as he pulled a folded paper out of his pocket, "In fact, here it is!"

Sure enough, Ayeka recognized it as a property deed. Where Kihei had managed to get one for her dojo she knew not, but that did not matter at this point.

"All I require," Kihei continued, "is your seal."

Ayeka scowled. "You will not have it!"

Kihei sighed. "As stubborn as ever. You know, I did try to make it easy on you. I even offered you a fair price for this property on several occasions. However, you were never able to open your eyes and appreciate just what you had to gain from this transaction. You've exhausted my patience, Miss Ayeka, and now it's time to bring this little dance of ours to a close."

"Ayeka?" she heard Sasami ask from the next room over, "What's going on?"

Ayeka's face paled; the last thing she wanted was for her younger sister to get involved in this affair. "Sasami, I want you to stay in that room! Do you understand?"

"Ayeka?" said Sasami, "What's wrong?"

"Just stay there!" Ayeka barked.

Kihei nodded. "Yes, I believe that would be best. She's too young to get wrapped up in business like this. It's too bad that you didn't think of her sooner, though. The money you could've made had you agreed to sell earlier would've served you both quite well. It really is a shame that it's come down to this."

Ayeka raised her wooden sword and pointed it at the old man. "Leave, Kihei. _Now_."

Kihei shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't be happening, Miss Ayeka… at least not until this transaction is concluded. One way or another, this property will be mine… or rather, _ours_."

The old man snapped his fingers, and Ayeka heard a set of heavy footsteps coming from behind her. Turning around, she saw a very large and muscular man with a thick beard standing in the doorway. A sword was held casually over his shoulder, and the cruel look in his eyes made Ayeka realize instantly just who she was looking at.

"You…" she said, pointing her sword at the brute, "The _Mujusai!_ "

He chuckled. "Hello there."

"This is Hiruma Gohei," said Kihei, "He's the master of _Kiheikan_ , as well as my brother."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "Wait, your _brother_? Then that means…"

"You know," Kihei interrupted her, "I really didn't want to handle this affair in such an unsavory manner. I'd much rather prefer to make a legal purchase. Unfortunately, intransigence combined with your snooping around has forced my hand. I can no longer afford the luxury of patience."

Kihei sighed as he continued. "Bringing bloodshed into a business affair was not my first choice for resolving this matter, but I can't argue with the results. Using my brother to cook up this commotion with a murderer terrifying Tokyo who claimed to use _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_ was an effective means to discredit your school. Throwing around the name _Mujusai the Manslayer_ worked wonders; the legend of his terrible prowess is so powerful that no one would dare mount a serious stand against him. Even the police were suitably terrified, and all of their confrontations with him were undermined by the fear the reputation of the _Mujusai_ instilled into their rank and file officers."

"You coward!" Ayeka hissed.

Kihei grinned. "Thanks to our campaign of terror it has only taken two months to reduce you to _this_. Most of your students have abandoned you, and with them goes your precious source of income and prestige. By the most recent estimates, once I take possession of this land and properly develop it, the value will increase five or six times thanks to the Westernization policy and current industrial growth embraced by the government. It would be such a shame for that potential to be squandered because of your outdated desire to preserve your family's martial art."

"You bastard!" growled Ayeka, "You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong," said Kihei with a smirk, "Brother, would you care to take it from here?"

The big man grinned as he stepped forward, brandishing his sheathed sword. "Your school's motto is supposed to be 'swords that give life', right? That's cute. How about this, then? Why don't you use that 'sword that gives life' right now to save your own life? If you're even capable of that."

Ayeka braced herself and brought her wooden sword into a guard position. "It would seem that I don't have much choice in the matter. Fine, then, you overgrown beast! I'll show you the true strength of my family's martial art. You will pay for besmirching the name of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_!"

Hiruma smirked. "Is that so? Come on and prove it, then."

Ayeka lunged forward. Moving with all the speed and strength she could muster, she lashed out at the man's gut, hoping to wind her target and give herself an early advantage. Unfortunately for her, the man reacted much quicker than his bulk would indicate him being capable of and simply blocked her attack with the palm of his left hand.

"What?" cried Ayeka, her eyes widening at how effortlessly her foe had stopped her attack.

Hiruma gave her a cruel grin. "Your 'strength' is nothing more than a little girl's dream. This is _real_ power!"

Her opponent then made a hard overhand strike with his sheathed sword. Ayeka raised her weapon to block it, but the force of the blow was so strong that it snapped her wooden sword in half before hitting her shoulder. Staggered by the strike, Ayeka was easy prey, and Hiruma wasted no time in lifting her up by her robe.

"Mastery and death!" her foe sneered, " _That_ is what a sword is for! It doesn't save lives; it takes them!"

"That is true," said Kihei as he approached Ayeka from behind, "but do not take her life quite yet, Hiruma. A seal is only valid if it is made while the signer is still alive."

Looking down, Ayeka could do nothing as Kihei pulled out a small knife and made a small cut on her thumb. He then pressed it to the piece of paper he was holding, leaving a crimson blot on it.

"There," he said with a smile, "It's finally ours! I should've done this much sooner. _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_ is no more!"

 _No_ , thought Ayeka, _I can't let it end this way!_

It was at that moment that the front door opened again. Ayeka and the others turned to see a single man standing in the entryway. Ayeka didn't recognize him, but it appeared that Hiruma did.

"Nishiwaki?" he said, "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

It was then that Ayeka noticed just how pale the man was. His legs were shaking, and it looked like he was about to pass out at any second. His whole body was trembling, and that was matched by the tremor in his voice.

"The… the real one… got us," he said, his voice barely more than a terrified whisper.

A soft thud came from behind the man before he keeled forward, knocked out cold. His fall revealed the man standing behind him; the wanderer from the night before.

"Heero!" Ayeka gasped.

She saw him survey the impromptu gathering. "It seems I'm a little late. My apologies, Ayeka. It took a little longer than I had anticipated, but I was able to extract all the information I needed from Nishiwaki."

"What information?" asked Kihei, his eyes narrowing.

Meanwhile, Hiruma loosened his grip on Ayeka as he turned towards Heero. "You… you're that meddling punk from the night before! So, are you here to talk about 'swords that give life' too?"

Heero shook his head. "No. The fundamental truth of swordsmanship is the same as that which underlines all martial arts; while they are best used for self-defense, they are ultimately a means to kill. One can color it up however they wish, but it is impossible to deny the brutal heart of the matter."

"No…" said Ayeka softly, "That… that cannot be right…"

Heero sighed. "She speaks as one who's never had to personally stain her hands with blood. The ideals of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_ are a sweet and naïve lie, nothing more."

Ayeka shook her head. "You're wrong! It… it's not like that…"

She was surprised to see a very small smile grace Heero's face. "That said… I wouldn't mind if that lie became the truth one day. Using the martial arts to save lives rather than take them would be a much better utilization of the violence inherent within them. For our talents in the art of combat to be used to preserve life rather than vanquish it… yes, that would be infinitely preferable to the cold reality that they presently embody."

Ayeka smiled. "Heero…"

Hiruma scowled. "Hey, brother? This guy bugs me. Can we get rid of him?"

Kihei nodded. "Yes. He's been a real nuisance. Have your underlings kill him."

Hiruma grinned. "All right, boys! You heard my brother! Take his head!"

The motley assortment of thugs brandished their equally versatile and improvised weapons. Ayeka shuddered at the bloodthirsty grins on their faces. Heero looked calm, but there was simply no way that he could prevail against such odds.

"Heero, run!" she cried, "Please, you must retreat!"

For his part, Heero simply slipped one hand down to the hilt of his sword. "Further violence would be meaningless at this point. Anyone who wishes to avoid seeing a doctor should leave now."

"Tough talk coming from a dead man!" cackled one of the thugs.

"We're going to feed what's left of you to the fishes!" snarled another.

Heero's eyes narrowed and Ayeka felt a sudden chill as she saw the dark edge in his gaze. "So be it. Don't say I didn't warn you."

The leading thugs were right on top of him when he finally drew his sword. Before Ayeka could so much as blink there was a flurry of silver flashes before three men dropped to the floor, clutching their sides and gasping painfully for air. More rushed in, and a single lightning-fast slash took two of them down before they knew what hit them. The others lashed out with their myriad assortment of weapons, but none of them could so much as touch Heero, who seemed to be dodging them almost as casually as he might make his way through throngs of people on a crowded day at the market.

"What… what is this?" said Kihei, a hint of fear creeping into his voice, "How come they can't hit him? What sorcery is this?"

 _No_ , thought Ayeka as she carefully studied Heero's movements, _it's not sorcery. It's… anticipation._

Even in the midst of the fight, Heero was carefully analyzing every aspect of his foes. The slightest bit of tension was enough to betray the intentions of his enemies, and right now he was ruthlessly exploiting that. What blows he could not dodge outright were simply deflected and brushed aside, and every opponent that tried to attack him immediately found themselves struck down. His swordsmanship was swift and efficient; there was not a single gap in his defenses, and each of his strikes was made with pinpoint precision. Soon he was surrounded by fallen thugs, and as the last of the underlings went down Heero turned his attention to the two brothers that were at the heart of this whole unsavory affair.

"Striking at the dojo's reputation by associating its fighting style with murder was clever," said Heero, "However, you picked the wrong alias. If you were half as smart as you think you are you would've realized that the _Mujusai_ is not a practitioner of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_. The name itself is a dead giveaway."

Ayeka's face paled as she realized what he was getting at. "No… it _cannot_ be…"

"You…" gasped Kihei, "You mean…"

"There is an old and very obscure style of swordsmanship," Heero continued, "In fact it is all but forgotten now. The name of that school is _Mujushin Kenjutsu_ , also known as the Sword of No Abiding Mind."

"Are you…?" Hiruma murmured.

Heero pointed his sword at Hiruma. "The meaning of the name _Mujusai_ is this; 'one who has mastered every aspect of _Mujushin Kenjutsu_ '. Were it not for the nature of this particular sword, the floorboards here would be soaked with blood right now."

Ayeka was in shock. "Then… _Mujusai the Manslayer_ … that's _you?_ "

"Yes," said Heero as he calmly stepped forward, "and I'm most eager to bring this matter to a close. I sent Ryoko to inform the police after we dealt with the underlings at _Kiheikan_. They should be showing up here any time now. They know exactly who they're after now, so the two of you will have a hard time escaping them. Surrender now; further violence is meaningless."

To her relief Hiruma actually let Ayeka go, but that was only so he could step forward and draw his sword. He was grinning as he stared down Heero, and Ayeka could easily see the bloodlust in his eyes.

"I thought you were nobody when you interfered the other night," he said, "It didn't even occur to me to try to fight you. Now I regret it!"

"Unlike you," Heero replied, "I don't engage in violence for the sake of violence. It's regrettable that I wasn't able to bring this affair to an earlier conclusion, but I intend to rectify the matter tonight. The only question now is whether or not you will be brought to justice unharmed or otherwise. The choice is yours."

Hiruma chuckled. "You're either confident… or just plain _arrogant!_ Why don't we find out which one it is?"

The brute raised his sword. "There is only enough room in this world for _one Mujusai!_ This will decide which of us is worthy of the title!"

"If you insist," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "but I already have the answer, and you're not going to like it."

"Shut up and fight!" shouted Hiruma as he brought his sword down in a powerful overhand strike.

There was so much strength behind the attack that it shattered the floorboards, but it didn't so much as graze Heero. He deftly sidestepped the blow, and Ayeka couldn't tell if he was looking at Hiruma with either contempt or pity.

"Brute force is not the way of the _Muju_ ," said Heero, "Shall I show you what mastery of this form _really_ means?"

Hiruma's response was a vicious horizontal slash, but Heero simply ducked beneath it. His counter was swift and devastating; there was an audible crunching noise as his first blow shattered the muscular giant's right knee, while a blindingly fast second strike impacted Hiruma's lower torso. The one-two combo was enough to send the big man down to the floor, grasping his knee and side and whimpering in agony.

"Consider yourself lucky," said Heero casually, "I hit your kidney with that second strike, so you'll be pissing blood for about a week. If I wanted to I could've utterly crushed your internal organs."

Ayeka was floored by what she saw. The killer who had terrorized Tokyo and dragged the name of her family's martial art through the mud had been reduced to an utter wreck, too winded to so much as even beg for mercy. A final blow to the back of his head knocked him out cold, and Ayeka watched as Heero then turned his attention to Kihei.

"This sword is not designed to kill," he said as he approached Kihei, an arctic chill in his voice, "However, a sufficiently powerful and well-placed strike would be more than enough to break your neck. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't do precisely that."

Looking at the man who had started this whole ugly affair, Ayeka took no small amount of satisfaction at the sight of Kihei being reduced to a pathetic series of tremors and moans. He seemed completely incapable of any form of coherent speech and could do nothing but continue to back up as Heero approached him until he was against the wall.

"Any last words?" Heero asked as he raised his sword.

Ayeka thought she heard what might've been a whimper before Kihei slumped down, passed out in utter terror. Drool flowed freely from his mouth, and a growing puddle beneath him put the final nail in the coffin of his dignity. Ayeka could only grimace at the sight; she was not looking forward to cleaning that up later.

"Thought so," said Heero as he sheathed his sword, "Those who send others to their deaths are usually cowards when confronted with their own mortality."

He then leaned down and plucked the deed Kihei had forced Ayeka to give her seal to from the old man's pocket. Shredding the paper, he then turned to Ayeka and gave her an apologetic bow.

"I'm sorry for the deception," he said, "but it's usually better to keep a past like mine under wraps. Would you be so kind as to not make mention of it to the police?"

Ayeka nodded, struggling to find the right words after all that she had seen. "Of… of course."

The door to one of the side rooms opened, and Ayeka saw Sasami peek nervously through the gap. "Ayeka… is everything okay?"

Ayeka smiled. "Yes, thanks to Heero."

"Oh, wow!" she gasped as she stepped into the main hall and surveyed all the fallen thugs, "You did all this, Heero?"

Heero nodded. "Yes."

Sasami turned to her sister. "Ayeka, why didn't you let me come in here? I could hear stuff, but if Heero was fighting all these guys then why didn't you let me watch? I bet he was amazing!"

"He was," Ayeka replied, "but it was also incredibly dangerous in here, Sasami. I could not let any harm come to you!"

"Thankfully there's no risk of that now," said Heero, "I hope that no one else thinks to try something like this again."

Ayeka was about to reply when she heard what sounded like footsteps just outside the front door. The three of them turned to see Ryoko enter the hall with Ryo-Ohki perched on her shoulder. Behind her was a group of police officers, with Kiyone and Mihoshi leading them.

"I brought backup, Heero!" she yelled as she came inside, her kunai at the ready, "All right, who's ready to… oh… well, so much for another fight."

"Wow!" cried Mihoshi, "They're all out cold!"

"Yes," said Kiyone softly as she walked inside and began inspecting the unconscious thugs, "Miss Ayeka… was this your doing?"

Ayeka shook her head. "I'm sorry, but as much as I'd like to take credit for this, I'm afraid I cannot. It was Heero who defeated these men."

Kiyone's eyes widened as she turned to the wanderer. "Seriously? You took them all on by yourself?"

"Yes," Heero replied matter-of-factly, "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Are you kidding?" said Mihoshi, "That's incredible! How'd you do it?"

Ryoko smirked. "Well, if our little scuffle at _Kiheikan_ is anything to go by, then I think I can imagine how it went down."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki triumphantly.

Kiyone nodded as she looked around. "Well, I don't know how you pulled it off, but you took care of the hard part for us. Officers, tie up these men before they regain consciousness!"

Her subordinates moved quickly, and as they carried out her orders Kiyone pulled a small pouch out of her pocket and passed it to Heero. "I didn't think I'd end up giving this to anyone, but… well, you've earned it."

Ayeka peered over Heero's shoulder as he opened the little bag. She could make out just the top of what looked like a considerable sum of money.

"Oh, my," she said softly, "Well, it certainly is well earned, I cannot deny that."

"Hey!" snapped Ryoko as she rushed over, "What about my share? I relayed the information to you cops after we finished things up at _Kiheikan_. I want my cut!"

"Here you go!" chirped Mihoshi as she passed Ryoko a small pouch.

Ryoko grinned as she eagerly snatched it right out of her hand. "All right! Now that's more like it!"

"The Tokyo police aren't usually in the habit of offering bounties," said Kiyone with a smile, "but with the way things were going we were getting desperate. In this case, I think it was well worth the extra expense, and I'm sure my superiors will agree."

"Will you need help with taking all of these men to your headquarters?" asked Heero.

Kiyone shook her head. "Nah, we can handle it. You've done more than enough already."

"Can you show us your moves?" asked Mihoshi, "I want to see how you beat them all!"

"Me too!" Sasami chimed in.

"Sasami!" Ayeka scolded, "He's not some travelling performer you can just bark out orders to! Show some courtesy!"

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "We don't have time for a show, Mihoshi. It's going to take all night just to process these guys."

"Aw, no fair!" Mihoshi pouted, "We've been working so hard already, Kiyone! We should have a little fun now that we've caught the bad guys!"

"The fun will have to wait until we've locked these thugs up good and tight," Kiyone shot back, "Now, let's get a move on!"

Ayeka watched as Kiyone led Mihoshi and the other officers out of her dojo with the thugs in tow. She smiled at the thought of Kihei and the others finally being brought to justice for all the death and misery that they were responsible for.

"At last," she said softly, "It's finally over."

"Indeed," said Heero, "You should be proud of yourself, Ayeka. You persevered through a very difficult trial. I think your father would be proud of all you did to defend the honor of his name and that of his martial art."

Ayeka shook her head. "You give me too much credit, Heero. Were it not for your efforts, there is no way that the situation would've been resolved in such a just manner."

"Hey!" barked Ryoko. "What about me? I helped too, you know!"

Ayeka folded her arms. "Perhaps, but you did so only out of the thought of monetary reward!"

"That's not true!" Ryoko shot back, "I wanted to help Heero because I owed him one, and he wanted to help you because that's just the kind of guy he is, so I had to go along with him here!"

Heero smirked. "Maybe, but there's nothing wrong with money being a factor too. I seem to recall you losing a considerable ill-gotten sum when we first met, after all. At least this is money that you can say you earned honestly."

Ryoko smiled. "True. Either way, it means I won't have to worry about where my next meal's going to come from for a little while. Isn't that right, Ryo-Ohki?"

"Meow!" her furry companion cheered.

"So," said Heero as he turned back to Ayeka, "what's next for you?"

"Restore this dojo to its proper state of affairs," said Ayeka with a determined smile, "It won't be easy to win back all of the students that I lost in this mess, but I'll find a way. Having our name officially cleared by the police will help considerably."

Heero nodded. "I imagine so. I wish you luck."

"Thank you," said Ayeka with a blush, "Although… if I may be so bold… may I ask something of you?"

"Go ahead," said Heero.

"I… I don't want to impose on you, especially with all the help you've given me already," said Ayeka, "However… it would be a great help if you would stay on… at least, for a little while. I think you'd be a good instructor, and I could certainly use a sparring partner as skilled as you are."

"And we could use some help in keeping this place neat and tidy!" Sasami chimed in, "Won't you please stay? It would be so much fun to have someone aside from just Ayeka and I living here!"

"Hey!" snapped Ryoko, "How come he's the only one that gets that kind of offer? What about me?"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"And what exactly would the likes of _you_ have to contribute around here?" Ayeka countered, "I doubt you're good for more than picking pockets and drinking sake!"

Ryoko scowled. "Are you trying to pick a fight? I don't care if Heero just helped you out of a jam; I'll throw down with you here and now!"

"Do you really think that you have a chance against me?" said Ayeka, "I am the head of a dojo while you are merely a common thief. In a straight-up fight you don't stand a chance!"

Heero stepped between them. "A fight will not be necessary, ladies. I think there's been enough combat for one evening as it is, don't you?"

"I'm up for one more round if she is," Ryoko growled.

"I could not have said it better myself," Ayeka shot back.

"Come on, you two!" Sasami pleaded, "You should both be better than this!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"If it's the offer of employment at this dojo that is causing this dispute," said Heero, "then it is all the more meaningless since it is a position that I do not intend to take."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "What? But… but why?"

Heero sighed. "I truly do appreciate the offer, Ayeka, but having me associated with your dojo will do you more harm than good in the long run. You've already seen what a fake _Mujusai_ can do to your reputation. Trust me when I say you do not want it to become known that you have the real one working for you as an instructor."

Ayeka shook her head. "No one would find out! I would keep your secret at all costs. You have my word!"

Heero gave her a small smile. "I have no doubt that you would keep your word, but the chance of exposure and repercussions remains nonetheless. I came into this whole affair as a wanderer, and I intend to leave it in the same manner. Trust me; this is for the best."

"But… but it's not…" Ayeka stammered, "It's not… right. After all you've done… I have to repay you somehow!"

"That's not necessary," Heero replied, "I simply wanted to bring the murderer to justice; I didn't do this out of thought for reward."

"We have to thank you somehow!" Sasami protested.

"If you feel that strongly about it, then continue to run this dojo as your father would have if he was still here," said Heero, "I may have said that the school's motto of 'swords that give life' is a naïve lie, but I do believe that the world would be a better place if that lie became the truth. Regain your lost students and pass on those ideals to them, and I will consider us even."

Ayeka nodded. "Very well. Still… is there really nothing else that I can do for you?"

Heero shook his head. "You have your hands full enough as it is. Don't trouble yourself further on my account. Farewell."

"Wait!" cried Ayeka as he headed for the door with Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki in tow, "Just… just tell me one thing!"

"What would that be?" asked Heero.

"Will… will I ever see you again?" she asked nervously.

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. "Well, it's always a mystery as to where the road will lead next. That being said, I'm sure my path will take me through Tokyo again someday. When that time comes, I would be most interested in seeing how far you've taken your dojo since today."

Ayeka smiled. "In that case, I'll give it my all. I'll restore _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_ to its full glory and make this dojo one that you _and_ my father would be proud of!"

"And I'll help!" chirped Sasami.

Heero nodded and smiled again. "I look forward to seeing someday. Until next time, and thank you for your hospitality."

With that he slipped out into the night, followed by Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki. For several long moments Ayeka stared at the empty doorway, struggling to process all that had transpired in such a short amount of time.

 _I never asked him why_ , she thought, _I never asked why a legendary warrior like the Mujusai now carries a sword that does not kill. Then again, after all he's said and done tonight… I might already know why._

His words were one of a man who had seen enough bloodshed in his time. His statement that the ideals of _Jurai Kasshin-Ryu_ were a naïve lie was one born from having taken life in combat, but his desire to see that lie become the truth must have come from that very experience. Ayeka could not say for sure, but it seemed most likely that the reason he carried the weapon that he did was so that he could continue to fight for what he believed was right without having to spill more blood in the process. That was what she wanted the students of her dojo to aspire to once she brought them back into the fold, and it was a sentiment that she fully embraced.

"Farewell, Heero Yuy," she said softly with a small smile on her face, "Wherever your road takes you, I wish you safe travels… and that you return here soon."

….

"So," said Ryoko from behind him, "where do you want to go next?"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Heero stopped and turned to face her and Ryo-Ohki. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I was thinking of taking one of the southwestern roads out of Tokyo, but beyond that I have no destination in mind."

Ryoko smiled. "Sounds good to me. It's been a while since I've left the capital, so I think Ryo-Ohki and I will tag along."

Heero shook his head. "You don't have to. You're not under any obligation."

Ryoko smirked. "Since when did I have to have a debt to you in order to travel with you? Sure, I helped you bring this whole 'fake _Mujusai_ ' mess to a close, so I guess we're even from you saving my neck back at the bridge, but that doesn't mean we have to go our separate ways."

"I don't know what you think you're going to get out of this," said Heero, "I'm not on this journey because there's money involved."

Ryoko shrugged. "I figured that, and to be honest I don't really care. Besides, thanks to the bounty from the cops I've got enough money to last Ryo-Ohki and I for a little while, so I'm not too worried about scrounging up some cash."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Then… why?"

Ryoko put her arm around him. "Well, because you're an interesting guy. You didn't judge me when I said I was a thief, you're pretty badass in a fight, and you're easy on the eyes. What can I say? I like you."

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki cheered.

"Even knowing who I really am?" he asked.

Ryoko smiled again. "Sure. We've all got stuff in our past that we're not proud of. Maybe you used to be a feared warrior and assassin, but I can still tell that you're a decent guy. I mean, look what you did back there. You helped take down a murderer and his lackeys without killing anyone and without asking for a reward. Sure, we both got paid, but I bet you would've helped them out even if there wasn't money involved."

Heero nodded. "That's correct."

"See? There you go!" said Ryoko with a grin.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"So," said Ryoko, "what do you say we hit the road? Wherever you want to go is fine by me. No matter what direction we go, I'm sure we'll have some fun along the way!"

Heero chuckled. "I imagine we would. Under other circumstances I'd have us set off right now. However… there's somewhere else we need to be right now."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that it's time to wake up," said Heero, "This has been an interesting dream, but in the end that's all it is. We can't keep running from reality forever. Isn't that right, Washu?"

There was a rustling sound from the tree-line off to the right, and a moment later Washu stepped out from the foliage with the Dimension Turner in hand. "All right, fess up; how long have you known that I was monitoring you?"

"Not too long after we entered this world," Heero replied, "You may be a genius, but your covert tracking skills could use some work."

Washu smiled. "I suppose you're right."

Heero nodded. "Now it's your turn to fess up; how long ago could you have cut off this dream world and taken us back home?"

"A while ago," Washu admitted, "but that would've defeated the point of all this."

Ryoko folded her arms. "And what exactly was the point of all this? Don't get me wrong, it's been a fun ride, but I know you didn't put this machine together just for us to play around with it."

Washu nodded. "Correct, although that didn't stop you from doing just that anyway. There was an experiment that I was hoping to conduct with it, and while it took longer than I had originally anticipated I was finally able to get around to it. I was hoping that it would continue for a little while longer, but I have most of what I sought."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "The subject of the experiment in question was me, wasn't it?"

Washu smirked. "Can't get much past you, can I?"

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Wait, are you serious? This whole thing was about Heero?"

Washu shrugged. "More or less. I'll admit it was rather entertaining to see the dream worlds the rest of you came up with, but that was a sideshow. The main event was Heero… and I must say, it wasn't quite what I was expecting."

"Sorry to disappoint," said Heero dryly.

Washu shook her head and smiled. "Oh, no, it's not like that at all, Heero! I simply meant that I didn't anticipate you creating a world like this one. I'm not disappointed at all; you just threw me a curveball with what you came up with here. All the better, actually; unpredictability makes for a much more exciting experiment."

"What exactly were you hoping to accomplish with this 'experiment' of yours?" asked Heero.

Washu chuckled. "Would you believe me if I said it was to find out more about you?"

"Consider me skeptical," Heero deadpanned.

"I'm with you there," said Ryoko.

"It really is the truth, you know," said Washu, "I wanted to see what sort of desires and ideals you keep buried deep inside that head of yours. The Dimension Turner gave me the perfect chance to see what would happen when your imagination was given the chance to run wild!"

"I think you're overstating my level of input in all of this," said Heero, "It's not like I consciously ordered your device to create this world. All I did was touch the control panel."

"And that was enough," said Washu, "Don't you remember? The Dimension Turner doesn't really require conscious input; it's more than capable of working with what it finds in your subconscious mind, and you gave it _plenty_ of material to work with."

"So _this_ is your ideal world, Heero?" said Ryoko, looking around, "Honestly, I'm a little confused. I figured at the very least it would be a little more high-tech than this."

Washu smiled. "Just because the world Heero's from is modern by his standards doesn't necessarily mean he would create a different one that had the same level of technological development. In fact, after observing you I think I know why this particular world works so well for you, even if you didn't consciously realize what you were creating at the time."

"How so?" asked Heero.

"First things first," said Washu, "Ryoko, may we have a moment?"

Ryoko glared at her. "What, you mean I'm not allowed to know about why Heero's world is the way it is?"

Wash sighed. "Ryoko, please. I won't ask that you give us some space for my sake. That being said… would you do it for Heero's? The ground that we're about to tread on is rather… personal."

The lovely pirate turned to him, looking genuinely concerned. "Heero?"

Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied Washu. It was clear that she knew more than what she was letting on. The question was how much… and who else should be aware of it. Sending Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki away likely would make things easier…

…but that didn't mean that it was the right thing to do.

 _I don't know what Washu's uncovered about me_ , he thought, _but whatever it is, there's no running from it forever. I might as well face it here and now… and if I have to, then I'd rather Ryoko be here too. After all she's told me about her past, who am I to keep secrets from her at this point?_

"No," he said firmly after a moment, "She stays, Washu."

"Are you sure?" asked Washu, looking uncharacteristically worried.

Ryoko put her hand on his shoulder. "Heero? You okay?"

"Meow?" murmured Ryo-Ohki.

He nodded. "Yeah. Let's have it here and now, Washu."

Washu sighed. "Very well, then. Tell me this, Heero; a sword, especially one with the blade on the wrong side, is hardly the kind of weapon that is ideal for your line of work, correct?"

"That's correct," said Heero grimly, "Since you're the resident genius, I'm sure you already know what I typically employ."

"Firearms, knives, grenades, etc." said Washu darkly, "Those are the weapons of your trade in the real world, Heero. With certain exceptions, they don't allow for much in the way of non-lethal force. I know that you're not the type of person who takes pleasure in killing. If you did, you would never have created a world where your weapon of choice is one that makes it so much easier to fight without taking life. As a member of your world's peacekeeping forces, you know that sometimes protecting the world and the innocents who live in it means staining your hands with blood… but that doesn't mean you don't wish that it were otherwise."

"My wishes are irrelevant to reality," said Heero, "I couldn't change it even if I wanted to."

Washu smiled. "That may be true, but you _were_ able to change it here. The fact that you did so speaks volumes. The same goes for the persona that you took on. Others might envision themselves as an ideal hero, but you took a different route. In this world, just like the real one, you have blood on your hands thanks to your past actions. You could've made it otherwise, but you chose to keep that aspect of yourself."

Heero nodded. "Some things should not be forgotten… or forgiven."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ryoko.

Washu shook her head. "You may see it that way, but your actions in this world and the philosophy that underlines them indicates otherwise. You may view the past as beyond atonement, but you strive for it just the same… and, in my humble opinion, you deserve it."

"I appreciate the sentiment," said Heero, "but it's not that simple."

Washu sighed. "I suppose you would take that viewpoint. If I had to guess, I'd say it's why you're still serving with the Preventers organization. Defending the peace in your world is noble in and of itself, but you are not doing so simply out of idealism. I'm sure you have the best of intentions, and I do not doubt for a moment the very real sacrifices you've made to keep the people of the Earth Sphere safe, but you don't see it as simply a moral obligation; you see it as a sentence."

"So what if I do?" asked Heero, "It's one that's been well earned."

"Hey, hold on a minute here!" cried Ryoko, "Heero, you're making it sound like you're the bad guy here! Sure, maybe you've done some shady stuff in the past, but the way you're talking makes it sound like you're worse than _me!_ "

"Not quite as eloquent as I might put it," said Washu, "but her point's valid all the same. If it's a self-imposed sentence, Heero, then tell me this; who decides when it's been served to completion?"

"You tell me," Heero replied, "You would know a thing or two about long sentences given how we found you, after all."

Washu nodded. "True, but that one was imposed by an outside party. We can argue over whether or not it was just, but at the end of the day I wasn't the one who made that call or ended the sentence. With you it's an entirely different matter."

"And what do you know about me?" he asked pointedly.

Washu smiled. "Enough to see that you are by far your own worst critic. There is nothing wrong with reflecting on past mistakes and seeking to make up for them, but you need to cut yourself a break. You are a far better person than you imagine yourself to be, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that assessment."

He was surprised to feel Ryoko put an arm around his shoulder. "She's right, Heero. You need to learn to ease up a little, especially on yourself. I know you mentioned a while back how you were part of a rebellion against your world's government, and I'm sure it wasn't pretty, but that's in the past. I don't care about that. I care about the guy in front of me right now, and from where I'm standing I think that you're a pretty damn good guy where it counts. I wouldn't have stuck around for so long if I thought otherwise."

His eyes widened slightly. "Ryoko…"

She took things one step further by kissing him on the cheek. "Cut yourself some slack, all right? If you dwell on the past too much you're going to miss out on all the good that the present and the future have to offer. That'd be a real shame, don't you think?"

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. "You know… you might have a point there. I'll try to keep that in mind."

Ryoko grinned. "You'd better do that. You got my back on this, right Ryo-Ohki?"

"Meow!" her furry companion cheered.

Washu chuckled. "Well, there you have it."

Heero nodded. "I suppose so. Now, can you take us back to our world? I think we've spent enough time in the land of dreams."

"Sure thing," said Washu, "but before I do that, I noticed a few odd details regarding this world that I was hoping you'd clear up first."

Heero shrugged. "No promises, but I'll do what I can."

Washu smirked. "I couldn't help but notice a few… historical oddities, if you will. For example, the roles you had for Kiyone and Mihoshi. It was quite a natural move, but I don't think there were women acting as police officers in that particular era."

Heero nodded. "I'm not a complete expert on the history of that time period, but I imagine you're quite correct."

"I had some time to study this era while observing you," Washu replied, "Another discrepancy I noticed was your style of swordsmanship. _Mujushin Kenjutsu_ was a real style, but from what I understand it died out well before the Meiji Restoration."

"You're right about that," said Heero, "I came across references to the style when I was studying particular forms of swordsmanship; I wanted to try to find something to use against the priest in our sparring matches. There are no living practitioners, and there haven't been for centuries, but the writings I found on the style were enough for me to attempt a reconstruction of sorts. I haven't actually tried to use it against the old man yet, though."

Washu smiled. "Interesting… do you plan on changing that once we're back in the real world?"

"You can always come to our next match and find out," said Heero.

Washu nodded. "I think I'll take you up on that."

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?" asked Heero.

"Just one thing," said Washu, "You're in your late teens, right?"

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "What does his age have to do with this?"

"Well," said Washu, "we're supposed to be in the 11th year of Meiji in this world, and the background of Heero's 'persona', if you will, was regarding an assassin who fought in the Meiji Revolution. Given that timeframe… Heero, you'd be at the very least in your mid to late twenties in this world."

Heero nodded. "What of it?"

There was a moment of silence before Washu chuckled. "Well, I was going to say that you've aged a little too well, but now that I think about I actually can see you looking like this when you reach that age. Oh, yes… I think you'll age like fine wine."

"Really?" Ryoko purred, eyeing him lustfully, "Well, well… you really are something special, aren't you Heero?"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Is there anything _else_ you need to know?" asked Heero, rather eager to change the subject.

"Well," said Washu, "I suppose so. Tell me, Heero… would you like to stay here a little longer?"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "You mean in this world?"

"Of course," Washu replied, "What else would I be referring to?"

Heero shook his head. "As soon as you were able to, you cut off the other worlds that were created by the Dimension Turner. Why show me special treatment?"

"If anyone among us has earned special treatment, it's you," said Washu with a smile, "I know hosting all of us has been no easy task for you. We might not show it as much as we should, but all of us truly are grateful for what you've done over the past few months. When we return to the real world, your mission continues. I know it's not like others that you've had in the past, but you still have duties to uphold. In this world, you can escape them for a little while. None of us would begrudge you the chance to do so."

"She's right, Heero," said Ryoko, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I definitely wouldn't mind spending a few more days in this world, especially if it meant traveling with you!"

"Meow!" cheered Ryo-Ohki.

Heero couldn't help but smile. "I appreciate the thought, Washu, but I'm afraid I have to decline. We've spent enough time traveling between dream worlds. It's time to return to ours."

Washu nodded. "Very well, then. In that case, hold on tight!"

The world began to spin again, and a brilliant light began to emanate from the Dimension Turner. Before he was forced to shield his eyes Heero caught Washu studying him intently, and once again he found himself wondering just how much the eccentric scientist really knew about him. She hadn't really gone into great detail earlier like he first thought she would, but there was something about the look in her eyes that made Heero suspect that Washu understood far more about him than she was letting on.

 _I suppose I'll find out what she's learned sooner or later_ , he mused as he closed his eyes, _There's little point in worrying about it for now._

It was reassuring to know that they were finally heading back to the world that they belonged in, but at the same time the Preventers operative couldn't help but feel a slight pang of regret. Yes, it was time to go home, but at the same time the point that they were making their departure from the land of dreams left him pondering; what would it be like to travel freely with Ryoko as his companion? Was his entire 'dream world' really just a buildup to that? Was a journey with her, liberated from the duties and responsibilities of his role as a defender of the peace, the real dream that he sought?

If nothing else, it would at least give him something to think about when they returned to reality.

….

 **November 19** **th** **, A.C. 198**

The loud 'cracks' of wooden practice swords meeting came in rapid-fire succession as Heero and the shrine keeper continued their sparring match. Looking on from the sidelines, Washu, Ryoko, Ayeka, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki were all completely glued to the action. Kiyone and Mihoshi were on patrol duty today and thus had been unable to join the others on their excursion to the Masaki Shrine, which was a real shame as far as Washu was concerned; they were missing on hell of a show.

 _Incredible_ , she thought as she watched the two of them go at it, _I can't believe he was actually able to retain some of the knowledge and techniques from his dream world and incorporate them into his style of combat. Heero Yuy… your abilities are truly outstanding._

 _And to think that you've only scratched the surface of what you're really capable of…_

The young man moved with phenomenal speed, and each strike and deflection was a marvelous display of efficiency and precision. Washu still didn't think that he had what it took to beat the old man this time around, but at the very least he would make the shrine keeper work for his victory today.

The priest seemed to share Washu's sentiment, at least if the gleam in his eyes was anything to go by. "My, my… your talent grows every time you come back here."

Heero didn't answer, at least not with words; he was completely focused on the fight, so he let his weapon do the talking. A furious sequence of slashes and thrusts put the old man on the defensive, and the Preventers operative was relentless in pressing his advantage.

"Woohoo!" cheered Ryoko, "Kick his ass, Heero!"

"You can do it!" called Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Yes!" shouted Ayeka, "Show him just how strong you are, Sir Heero!"

 _Oh, Princess_ , Washu mused with a smirk, _it only you knew the true depths of his potential…_

The shrine keeper chuckled as he deflected Heero's latest attack, blunting the young man's offensive and seizing the initiative. "I hate to disappoint a gathering of such lovely ladies, but I'm afraid I can't let you have your victory so easily."

This time Heero did give the old man a verbal reply as he blocked Katsuhito's strikes. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

The pace of the fight seemed to quicken, and Washu recognized that the duel was rapidly approaching its peak. The only question now was how the priest would land the finishing blow.

 _Sorry, Heero_ , she thought as her host and the old man exchanged a flurry of strikes and counters, _Don't get me wrong, you're good, but you're not quite at his level just yet. Give it time, though…_

There was a brief pause in the action as both fighters faced off, and Washu could tell that the next exchange would be the last. The two men nodded, and a split second later they both charged forward. Their practice weapons moved so quickly that even Washu had a hard time tracking them, and while the two combatants appeared completely calm the intensity of their clash was undeniable.

The two fighters whirled around each other, dodging and blocking each other's attacks as they sought the crucial opening that would decide the match. A pivot on Heero's part set the young man up for a powerful slash, but the step had also left his back exposed for the briefest of moments, and that was all that Katsuhito needed to thrust forward. However, just before his wooden sword could make contact, the old man suddenly halted his strike at the last possible moment.

Washu's eyes widened in shock as she realized what had just happened. " _No way…_ "

She wasn't the only one who looked surprised. The others were speechless, and even the priest seemed taken aback at the sudden turn of events. The reason was simple enough; in the brief moment that Katsuhito had seized to attack Heero's back, the young man had slid his sword along his left side and thrust it backwards so the point was less than a centimeter from the shrine keeper's gut.

"I don't believe it…" the priest said softly, "The simultaneous strike… _Mujushin Kenjutsu…_ where did you learn this?"

"I read about it," said Heero, "I've been looking for the chance to try it out."

Katsuhito's eyes narrowed as the two fighters withdrew their swords. "Through leaving a small opening in your defenses, you entice the enemy to strike. At the same time, this creates an opening in your foe's defenses, giving you the tiniest of windows to retaliate. Young man… you know that if this were a real fight that move would be a suicide strike, right?"

Heero nodded. "Yes. Since this was not a real fight, though, I felt safe in taking a shot at it."

Katsuhito shook his head. "Even so, it's not a technique that should be used lightly. Even in a practice match you could get yourself seriously hurt. It is a technique that was meant as a last resort, and you should treat it accordingly."

Heero shrugged. "It's not the first time I've pulled a stunt like that. I guess old habits die pretty hard. I'll have to work on that. Still, for the purpose of the match, I'd say it worked out all right."

The priest chuckled. "I suppose it did. After all these fights, we finally have a draw. Your abilities truly are something else; there are master kendo practitioners in the world who would be downright envious of the level of skill you've demonstrated."

"Thanks," said Heero.

"Care for another round?" asked the shrine keeper.

Heero shook his head. "Not today. It's getting close to lunchtime, so we should be heading back."

Sasami's eyes widened. "That's right! Today's the day you were going to show me how to make… oh, what's it called again?"

"A pastrami grinder," said Heero, "I think you'll enjoy it, Sasami."

The younger Juraian Princess smiled. "I hope so. Let's get going!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"A meal does sound nice right about now," said Ayeka.

"No kidding," said Ryoko, "I could eat a horse right about now."

Ayeka rolled her eyes. "You just had breakfast no more than two hours ago because you sleep so damn late! How can you possibly be _that_ hungry right now?"

"I've got a healthy appetite," the pirate replied, "I'm not one of those stick-thin girls that has to starve themselves to feel good about how they look."

Ayeka scowled. "And are you implying that _I_ am such a woman?"

Ryoko shrugged. "Take it however you want."

Heero stepped between them. "That's enough, you two. If you keep this up Sasami and I will make your sandwiches last, so cut it out."

Ryoko pouted. "That's not fair, Heero! I don't deserve that!"

"There's no need for that, I assure you, Sir Heero!" cried Ayeka with a hint of panic, "Please do not sentence me to the rear of the meal queue!"

"Rein in your mutual hostility and I won't have to resort to such measures," said Heero before looking over his shoulder, "Washu, are you coming?"

Washu smiled. "I'll be along in a little while. Save a sandwich for me, all right?"

The young man looked slightly puzzled, but he nodded a moment later. "Suit yourself."

Heero and the others disappeared down the stairs a few moments later, leaving Washu alone with the shrine keeper. She smirked as she watched the old man pick up the practice swords before approaching her; it was time to start getting some answers.

"He really spooked you there, didn't he?" she asked.

The priest chuckled as he sat down on the front steps of the shrine next to her. "I've never seen a swordsman develop their skills as rapidly as him. At the rate he's going, I think it's only a matter of time before he finally notches up a win."

"Or until he forces you to start going all out," said Washu with a knowing grin, "Now that's a fight I _really_ want to see."

Katsuhito nodded. "Yes, I suppose you would. The centuries have passed, but you haven't changed a bit, I see. Is that for better or worse, I wonder…"

"Is that why you set up shop right next to where I landed on this rock?" asked Washu, "You didn't know what I'd do when I finally got out of that cage? You know, after all we've been through, I was hoping for a little more trust."

The shrine keeper shook his head. "It was not a matter of trust. I was genuinely concerned that the extended amount of time you spent in stasis might have adversely effected your disposition. You may not believe this, but I was genuinely relieved to find that you were released no worse for the wear."

Washu smiled. "Actually, I do believe you. You always were a big softy, after all. Even during the Imperial Civil War, you stayed a decent man while others succumbed to lust for power and revenge. Man, what a mess that was… two thousand years of war. We were all a bunch of idiots back then, weren't we?"

The priest smiled. "I never thought I'd see the day where you would include yourself amongst the ranks of fools… it would seem that you've gained some maturity in recent days."

Washu shrugged. "Well, I suppose I need to at least _try_ to act my real age from time to time. It's not very fun, though."

The shrine keeper chuckled. "Well, no one said that you had to _completely_ change your ways, Washu Hakubi. The galaxy would be a lesser place if its greatest scientist lost the spark that made her who she is, wouldn't you say?"

Washu smirked. "I see you've been working on that silver tongue of yours. You've come a long way…"

"… Yosho Masaki Jurai."

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Sasami: Hooray, we're back!_

 _Ayeka: Ah, it's good to return to the real world!_

 _Ryoko: I don't know, I was kind of enjoying myself there. How about you, Heero?_

 _Heero: I think I've had enough travelling through time and space to last me for a good while._

 _Ryo-Ohki: Meow!_

 _Washu: Glad to hear it. Now never mess around in my lab again! You got that?_

 _Mihoshi: Yes, ma'am!_

 _Kiyone: Don't need to tell us twice._

 _Sasami: Ayeka, look outside! It's snowing!_

 _Ayeka: Oh, my, how lovely! It's so picturesque and… Ryoko! What was that for?_

 _Ryoko: Snowball fight!_

 _Ryo-Ohki: Meow!_

 _Mihoshi: Come on, Kiyone, let's join in!_

 _Kiyone: Well, I can think of worse ways to pass the time. Heero?_

 _Heero: Why not?_

 _Azaka: Actually, Sir Heero, you have an incoming call you need to take._

 _Kamidake: He says he's an old friend of yours._

 _Heero: Who in the…?_

 _Quatre Raberba Winner: Hey, Heero! How are you? Got plans for the holidays? I'm hosting a party up here at L4, and you and your house guests are all invited!_

 _Heero: Wait, how do you know…?_

 _Sally Po: Let's just say someone here at HQ thinks you might be going stir-crazy. What do you say, Heero? Up for a happy holiday get-together?_

 _Washu: This should be interesting. Next time, in Chapter Twelve: No Need For A Party Night!_

 _Heero: There are so many ways that this could go wrong…_

 _Ryoko: Bottoms up, Heero!_

 **Author's notes:** All right, it's good to have the story moving forward again. On the off chance that anyone missed the references, Heero's dream world was basically the very beginning of the series _Rurouni Kenshin_ with a few personal touches thrown into the mix. One of the larger changes was Heero's fighting style; _Mujushin Kenjutsu_ is actually the form used by Jin in _Samurai Champloo_.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please review, and see you next time!


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:** Hello! Sorry for the long wait, there was a lot that I wanted to do with this chapter!

Not much to really say this time around, except that I hope you enjoy the newest chapter of the fic!

 **Chapter Twelve: No Need For A Party Night!**

 **November 27th, A.C. 198**

"Ayeka, look!" Heero heard Sasami call as he came down the stairs, "Look outside!"

"Oh, my…" said the elder Juraian princess, "That's a new sight…"

"How wonderful," said Azaka, "I haven't seen this in quite some time."

"Indeed," said Kamidake, "How comforting it is to know that Jurai and Earth have this in common, at the very least."

"It's so pretty!" chirped Mihoshi.

"Come on, Mihoshi," said Kiyone, "It's not like we haven't seen it before."

Following their gaze, Heero looked out the window and saw a steady stream of snowflakes falling from above. It was indeed a lovely sight, although it had come a little later this year than Heero had anticipated.

Ayeka beamed as he entered the kitchen. "Oh, good morning, Sir Heero! Have you had the chance to look outside yet?"

"It's snowing!" cried Sasami.

"So I've noticed," said Heero, "I was wondering when we'd see it up here."

"Can I get you a plate?" asked Ayeka, "Sasami just finished making breakfast."

"It's fine," Heero replied, "I can dish myself up. It smells good, Sasami."

The younger princess smiled. "Pancakes, bacon, and eggs, just like you taught me!"

"You should dig in, Heero," said Kiyone in between bites, "I think this is Sasami's best batch yet."

"It's so good!" cheered Mihoshi, and Heero could've sworn she was about to shed tears of joy, "I wish I could cook like this!"

Kiyone shook her head. "Mihoshi, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're doing us a favor by leaving the cooking to Sasami."

"Quite true," said Ayeka, "The last thing we need is the kitchen catching on fire again."

"Why won't you let that go?" pouted Mihoshi, "I told you it was an accident!"

Ayeka scowled. "It was nearly a catastrophe that could've consumed Sir Heero's apartment! You are utterly daft if you believe that I'll risk such a calamity out here!"

"Hey!" cried Sasami, "Go easy on her, Ayeka. She was only trying to help when that happened!"

"We all have our strengths and weaknesses," said Heero as he sat down with the others, "Cooking simply isn't one of Mihoshi's strengths. We've all learned from that and we're better off for it. Mihoshi still helps out around here; it's just not through cooking."

Mihoshi smiled. "That's right! I can finally do laundry without using too much detergent, and yesterday I cleaned the whole living room without tripping over anything!"

Kiyone smiled. "For you, that actually is pretty impressive. Heero, I think you're starting to rub off on her."

"She's right," said Mihoshi, "It's only because you've been so patient with me that I've gotten this far. Thanks, Heero!"

Heero couldn't help but give her a small smile in return. "You're welcome, Mihoshi."

They continued their meal in peace, and it was only as they finished up that Ryoko finally came down to join them. Ayeka immediately shot a glare her way, and Heero braced for the inevitable exchange of hostilities.

"You!" snapped the Princess, "Just _now_ waking up? I swear, your laziness is in a class in and of itself!"

"Whatever," the pirate replied dismissively as she dished up, "Man, this looks great. You or Sasami, Heero?"

"This one's all Sasami," Heero replied.

"Good job, kid," said Ryoko as she started wolfing down the bacon.

Sasami smiled. "Thanks!"

It was only then that Ryoko's gaze went towards one of the windows. "Hey, check it out! When did it start snowing?"

"From the looks of things," said Heero, "I'd say pretty early this morning. It seems to be coming down pretty steadily, too."

"Can we go out and play in it later, Ayeka?" asked Sasami, "It's been so long since we've had the chance to do that!"

Ayeka smiled. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in it. Good thing Sir Heero bought us winter clothing before we all moved out here."

Mihoshi nodded. "That's right! Uh, oh, I just realized that we don't have any for Kiyone and Washu!"

Kiyone shook her head. "It's all right. We have cold-weather gear in storage on the ship, Mihoshi, remember? I'll just need to head over and grab it in a little bit."

Mihoshi breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. That still leaves Washu, though?"

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Please. As if she needs any help from us. She's probably got something for the cold stashed away in that lab of hers."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"That's true," said Heero, "and if she doesn't… well, I'm sure it wouldn't take her long to make some."

"You got that right!" called the resident mad scientist, "Fabricating clothing is nothing to the likes of a genius like me!"

Heero and the others turned to see Washu coming down the hallway. Her two mini cheerleader robots were perched on her shoulders, and the confident smirk on her face was vintage Washu.

"Washu, you're brilliant!" cried Washu-bot A.

"The greatest genius of all time!" praised Washu-bot B.

"Ah," sighed Washu, basking in the adulation of her tiny automatons, "Damn straight!"

"Good morning, Washu!" chirped Mihoshi.

"Did you look outside?" asked Sasami, "It's snowing!"

"Yes, I noticed," said Washu as she fixed herself up a plate, "Just because I spend most of my time in my lab doesn't mean I lack means to observe the outside world."

"That figures," said Kiyone.

"Please tell me that you are not using such surveillance technology to spy on us in private," said Ayeka nervously, "Tell me you do not have our bedrooms and lavatory under watch…"

Washu smirked. "Fine. I won't tell you."

"That's reassuring," muttered Ryoko.

"Washu!" cried Ayeka, "That's not good enough! I need your solemn word!"

Washu chuckled. "And you're going to make me give that to you… _how_ , exactly?"

Ayeka started fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, I… that is…"

"That's enough," said Heero, "Washu, I'm fine with you installing your own surveillance grid in the house, but could you please do us a favor and grant us just a little bit of privacy?"

Washu smiled. "All right, but on one condition. Care to guess what it is?"

Heero had a pretty good idea of what it was at this point, so he decided to swallow his pride and get it over with. "Please… Little Washu."

Washu beamed triumphantly. "You got it, handsome!"

 _I still can't believe I'm willing to say that to her_ , he thought, _I'm just glad that the only audience I have here are the girls and Ayeka's guardians. If Duo saw this, he'd never let me hear the end of it…_

...

It was a complete free-for-all. Balls of cold, packed white powder flew through the air left and right. Alliances of convenience were formed and broken on the fly, and no one was safe from the inevitable betrayal. It was a winter wonderland warzone, and the hostilities were unfolding all around the countryside house that had become the home of a Preventers operative and his many guests.

Ducking around the corner to avoid the latest salvo from Mihoshi and Kiyone, Heero found himself running headlong into Ryoko. The lovely pirate wasted no time in taking advantage of this surprise encounter by pulling Heero right into her bosom.

"Oh, Heero!" she cried with a smile, "Please, help me! Ayeka just won't let up!"

"The last time you and I partnered up I wound up with a snowball down the back of my shirt," said Heero warily as he extricated himself from her grip, "What's stopping you from pulling the same stunt twice?"

Ryoko winked. "Come on, Heero; I had to get one good shot in! This time will be different though. I promise!"

Heero sighed. "All right, then. Where's Ayeka?"

Ryoko jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Over that way, and she's got backup."

"So I see," said Heero, "I really wish that Washu hadn't modified Azaka and Kamidake like that."

Standing behind a wall of snow, Ayeka had a triumphant grin on her face. Under the circumstances, Heero couldn't blame her; not only had she secured a fortified position, but she was flanked on either side by her loyal guardians. Azaka and Kamidake were each sporting a pair of thin mechanical arms which had been hastily created by Washu for the sole purpose of enabling them to throw snowballs, and Heero could speak from personal experience about just how accurate they were.

"Where's Sasami?" asked Heero.

"Probably still with Washu," said Ryoko, "She said she couldn't team up with Ayeka if she was using Azaka and Kamidake because it wouldn't be fair to the rest of us."

Heero nodded. "That was nice of her. It doesn't make our task much easier though."

He peeked back around the corner to check on Kiyone and Mihoshi; the last thing he needed was the two of them hitting him and Ryoko from behind as they tried to attack Ayeka. Fortunately, it appeared that he would not have to worry about that. The pair of cops were under attack from Washu and Sasami, who had somehow gotten onto the roof of the house and were raining snowballs down on the officers.

 _Looks like our rear's secure for the moment_ , he thought, _I just hope that they're careful up there. I'm sure Washu can take care of herself, but Sasami could get hurt…_

"So," said Ryoko as Heero turned his attention back to Ayeka and her guardians, "how do you want to do this?"

Heero's eyes narrowed as he formulated a plan. "I'll attack head-on and act as a diversion. You grab yourself some ammo and hit them from above."

Ryoko grinned. "I like it! Let's do this!"

Moving out from cover first, Heero started walking straight towards Ayeka. The Juraian royal's eyes widened as she saw her new foe.

"Sir Heero!" she cried, "Don't tell me that Ryoko has somehow persuaded you to join her side!"

"Sorry, Ayeka," he replied, "but I had to even out the field somehow. Don't take it personally."

Ayeka shook her head. "It doesn't have to be this way. Join me, Sir Heero, and together we shall dominate this winter battlefield! We shall be unstoppable!"

"Tempting offer," Heero replied, "but I'm afraid I'll have to decline this time. It wouldn't be much fun for the others if one of these shifting alliances of ours got too powerful."

Ayeka sighed. "So be it. In that case, I shall endeavor to dispatch you quickly. Azaka, Kamidake! Engage!"

"Our apologies, Sir Heero," said Azaka, "but orders are orders."

"This is simply our duty," chimed Kamidake.

"Don't worry," said Heero as he scooped up a handful of snow and crafted his projectile, "I won't hold it against you."

The Gundam pilot broke into a spring, zig-zagging as Ayeka's guardians cut loose with a furious barrage. He was able to stay one step ahead of the rapid-fire stream of white projectiles, but Heero knew that this wasn't something that he could keep up forever. Washu's modifications to the guardians appeared to have been more than just superficial; whatever fire-control software they were operating under would've been absolutely lethal if applied to actual weaponry.

Ayeka's potshots were relatively easy to avoid by comparison, and it looked like she really wasn't giving it her best effort. While Heero was grateful for her restraint, he wasn't above using it against her under these particular circumstances. He let fly with his projectile, causing Ayeka to duck behind her barrier. Quickly scooping up a handful of snow, he fashioned his next missile on the go as he raced to keep ahead of the volleys of snowballs Azaka and Kamidake were sending his way.

 _Come on, Ryoko_ , he thought as rolled to the side, _I could really use a little air support right about now…_

Glancing upwards, he saw Ryoko moving in as if on cue. She had a very large clump of snow in her arms, and the devious grin on her face told Heero just how much she was looking forward to letting it fall on Ayeka and her guardians.

"A valiant effort, Sir Heero!" Ayeka shouted, completely oblivious to the threat that was approaching from above, "However, I'm afraid you're only postponing the inevitable. Surrender, and you shall be treated with dignity in your captivity!"

"Not going to happen," Heero replied, "If you want to throw in the towel now, though, I'll accept your surrender. Otherwise you're going to be in for a rude awakening."

Ayeka smiled. "Bold words, Sir Heero, but I know a bluff when I see it. There is no possible way for you to turn this situation around. You cannot win!"

Heero looked up again and saw Ryoko wink at him; she was ready to strike. He turned back to Ayeka and her guardians, preparing to seize the opening that his ally was about to create.

"Suit yourself," he said, "Don't say that I didn't warn you."

It was at that moment that Ryoko let her payload fall. Before Ayeka and her guardians knew what was happening they were covered in show, and Heero used the opportunity to charge forward, leap over the barrier and administer the coup de grace, flinging snowballs at Azaka and Kamidake's optical sensors before readying a third and aiming it right at Ayeka's face at point-blank-range.

"So," he said, "about that surrender; I'll be accepting it now if that's all right with you."

Ayeka took a moment to glare at Ryoko before turning back to Heero and regaining her composure. "Very well, then. The day is yours, Sir Heero. Until our next match, then. Azaka, Kamidake! Let us withdraw to the sidelines for the time being."

"Yes, your Highness!" the two guardians replied as one.

"Woohoo!" cheered Ryoko as she floated down towards the ground, "We win!"

"Not yet," said Heero, "We still have to take down the others… and then face off with each other."

Ryoko smirked as she put her arm around him. "I know. Don't worry; like I said earlier, I'm not going to backstab you this time. Once we've beaten the others, I'll fight you head-on. So, what do you say we show the rest of them how it's done?"

Heero nodded. "Very well, then. Let's go get them."

….

"Ah!" sighed Sasami as she took a sip from her mug of hot chocolate, "That was so much fun!"

"It sure was!" chirped Mihoshi, "We should go out their again later!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Why don't we save the next round for tomorrow?" asked Kiyone, "I'd rather stay in here where it's warm. Besides, I think I've still got snow melting in my hair."

"Indeed," said Ayeka as she shot a glare at Ryoko, "Among other places…"

Ryoko smirked but didn't say anything. It was enough for her to bask in the satisfaction of having caught her archrival by surprise the way she had during the snowball fight. The look on her face had been absolutely priceless.

"I still can't believe it ended in a draw," said Washu, "I'm disappointed, Ryoko; you had every advantage over Heero in that final fight."

Ryoko shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? The guy throws a mean snowball."

That was certainly true. True to her word, she had waited for the two of them to clear the others from the field before facing off against Heero in the final battle. At the end of the day, it had come down to speed and accuracy, and the result had been the two of them simultaneously throwing their projectiles and hitting each other right in the face. As far as she was concerned, there were far worse ways for the fight to end.

 _A win would've been nice_ , she mused, _but if I have to tie with someone, I don't mind it being him…_

"Speaking of Heero," said Kiyone as she looked around, "where did he disappear to?"

"I think he said he was going to check up on something," said Ayeka, "He went upstairs and hasn't come down since."

"I hope he's okay," said Sasami.

Ryoko stood up. "I'll go check on him. Be right back."

It didn't take her long to make it up to his room. The door was shut, and since it was possible he was just taking a nap Ryoko softly knocked on it.

"Hey, Heero?" she said, "You awake in there?"

"Yes," came his reply, "You can come in if you want."

She did so and saw him sitting on the bed studying the screen of his laptop. "What's going on? You've been up here for a while now. The others are starting to worry."

"Sorry," he said as she sat down next to him, "I've just been checking email updates from HQ. Things may be quiet out here, but I need to stay informed just in case something happens."

"Like what?" she asked.

Heero shook his head. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

Ryoko folded her arms. "I disagree. I may not know too much about the kind of work you did before we met, but if 'something happens' that requires your bosses to contact you, that 'something' is usually bad, right? I think that's definitely something for me to worry about!"

She saw his eyes widen slightly. "Ryoko…"

"Now look here," she said, pressing her finger into his chest, "If your bosses contact you about something dangerous, I want to know. I'm not about to let you get hurt, you got that?"

"I appreciate the concern," Heero replied, "but unless it involves someone else from beyond this world then I don't think you'll need to get involved in the situation. I know Sally and Director Une wouldn't want you or any of the others getting involved in the affairs of our world."

"I don't care about what they want!" Ryoko shot back, "I care about _you!_ It's not right that they can just call you and throw you into some dangerous mess anytime they want!"

Heero shook his head. "This is my job, Ryoko. Whether it's right or not is beside the point. My duty is to protect the people of the Earth Sphere, and my superiors dictate how that goal is best accomplished. I think you're overreacting to all of this in any case. My current mission hasn't changed; I'm still in charge of watching over you and the others, and from what I can see I don't think that's going to change anytime soon."

Ryoko sighed. "Well, as long as that's the case, I guess I'll try not to worry. Still, if something comes up, tell me, all right? You know what I can do in a fight. I can help you if your bosses send you back into the field. I _want_ to help you if that happens."

"That's kind of you," said Heero, "but humanity's petty squabbles aren't your fight. Security in the Earth Sphere is the responsibility of Preventers, and just because you're under my care doesn't obligate you to put yourself at risk on our behalf."

Ryoko smiled. "I wouldn't be doing it for Preventers. I'd be doing it for _you_ , Heero."

 _Never thought I'd find myself volunteering to help out a peacekeeping officer like this_ , she mused, _but, then again, Heero's not like anyone in the Galaxy Police or the Juraian military._

She thought she caught just a hint of red appear on his face, but it was only for a moment. "I know that you're stronger than me, Ryoko, but I wouldn't feel right about putting you in danger when it's my job to watch over you."

"That's sweet of you," Ryoko replied, "but I'm a big girl, Heero. I can take care of myself, and I can decide for myself which fights are _my_ fights. I don't mind getting my hands dirty if it means I get to help you out. So, what do you say? You think you can let me tag along the next time your bosses want you to go out into the field?"

Heero sighed. "I can't make any promises, Ryoko. That being said… I suppose it might be worth a try. Just know that ultimately the final decision isn't up to me."

"That's fine," said Ryoko with a chuckle, "I can always ignore your bosses. What are they going to do to stop me, after all?"

She was relieved to see him smirk. "They wouldn't be able to do much, that's for sure. Still… don't do anything reckless, all right?"

"No promises," she said with a wink, "Now, why don't you come downstairs and hang out with the rest of us? There's plenty of hot chocolate left!"

Heero nodded as he closed the laptop. "When you put it that way, how can I say no?"

"You can't!" said Ryoko with a grin as she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room.

….

 **December 14** **th** **, A.C. 198**

 _Another day, another snowball fight_ , Heero mused as he finished drying his hair, _I never thought I'd be spending a winter quite the way I'm spending this one…_

The snowfall had been fairly steady since winter had begun in earnest. Heero had been worried that the white powder might pile up to the point that he and the girls would be trapped in their countryside home, but fortunately the local administrator had dispatched crews to make sure the mountain roads were clear for transit. Even had that not been the case, Heero supposed that his fears were misplaced due to the simple fact that he could easily contact Preventers in the event of an emergency; it wouldn't take them long to get a helicopter out here.

The past few weeks had been almost idyllic, apart from the usual antics that his houseguests frequently got themselves and him caught up in. It was a life that Heero could definitely get used to. Others might complain about the slow pace, but from where he was sitting that was the whole point. He much preferred being a caretaker for the women who had taken up residence with him rather than returning to the field. It was a peaceful existence, one where he could escape, even if it was only momentarily, the dreadful weight of responsibility for taking lives that he had carried for far too long.

He had a few minutes until lunch would be ready, so now was as good a time as any for him to check up on messages from Preventers. He sat down on the bed and opened up his laptop, but before he could start reviewing his latest emails a beeping noise came from the computer and an icon was flashing in the bottom right corner; someone was trying to set up a video call with him.

 _Well now_ , he thought as he checked the identification, _I haven't talked to him in a while…_

A few seconds later an old friend appeared on the screen. His blond hair was neatly combed, and there was a friendly light in his blue eyes that hadn't changed a bit since the last time Heero had seen him. He was wearing what looked like an executive's business suit, which made sense given his current position.

"Hey there, Heero!" said Quatre Raberba Winner, fellow Gundam pilot and the head of the Winner Family, "It's been a while! How are you?"

Heero nodded and gave his old friend a small smile. "Doing well, thanks. How's the corporate life treating you?"

Quatre chuckled. "Well, it keeps me busy. Personally, I can't tell who's a harsher taskmaster, Rasheed or Iria. I know I'm _supposed_ to be the boss, but without those two I don't think I'd be able to run the company nearly as well."

"Iria…" said Heero, trying to place a face with the name, "isn't she the oldest of your sisters?"

Quatre smiled. "Hey, you remembered! Not everyone can keep them all sorted out. Even I still have trouble from time to time, and I grew up with them!"

"Well, considering there are twenty-nine of them, that's understandable," said Heero, "So, what's going on? You were always the nicest out of all of us, but simple social calls aren't really your style."

Quatre nodded. "Right to the point, then. You haven't changed, have you? Even with all of your… _guests_."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Hold on… how much do you know?"

"Enough to understand why Preventers assigned you to an out of the way country home a while back," said Quatre with a smirk, "Relax, Heero; Sally read me in a little bit ago."

"Why would she do that?" asked Heero, "Don't take it the wrong way; I trust you, and I know she does as well. Still, the nature of my 'guests' is something that we've been trying to keep under wraps, and for good reason."

Quatre nodded. "I know. Don't worry, Heero; word won't spread any further than it has to. You know that I can keep a secret."

"Right," said Heero, "Was that why you called, then? To tell me that you know about my guests?"

Quatre shook his head. "Not quite. I actually wanted to know if you had plans for the winter holidays."

"Not particularly," Heero replied, "It's not like I can go anywhere when I have to keep an eye on my guests."

Quatre smiled. "What if I could help you out with that?"

"What do you mean?" asked Heero.

"I'm hosting a private party up in L4 this year," said Quatre, "Just family and friends, so it's a group that we can trust. Why don't you bring the girls?"

"I appreciate the invite," said Heero, "but making those kind of travel arrangements…"

"Would be a piece of cake for me," said Quatre with a grin, "I already talked it over with Sally, Heero. I can have a private shuttle set up before you know it. The crew would consist of members of the Maganac Corps, and you know how disciplined they are."

"What about once we're on the colony?" asked Heero, "Lodgings alone…"

"Would not be a problem," Quatre finished for him, "I've got a guest residence with plenty of room for you and the girls, so you wouldn't have to worry about getting your guests set up at a hotel."

Heero sighed, knowing when he was beat. "It seems you've thought of everything, then."

Quatre grinned. "Come on, Heero, there's no need to be worried about this. This'll be chance for you and your guests to unwind and enjoy the holidays!"

"You haven't seen what my guests are capable of," Heero countered, "There are plenty of ways that this could go wrong, Quatre."

"There's always a chance that something could go wrong," said Quatre, "Things went wrong plenty of times for us in the past, but that didn't stop us then. Why should it now? Admit it, Heero; you need this, and your guests would love it."

Heero grudgingly nodded. "Well… I suppose a change of scenery for a day or two couldn't hurt. Still… we need to be damn careful with this, Quatre."

Quatre nodded. "Don't worry, Heero. We will be. I'll send you further updates via email. Does about a week from now sound good for pickup?"

"That should be fine," said Heero, "I'll keep it a secret from the girls for now; it'll be a fun little surprise for them."

Quatre smiled. "Not as fun as seeing the look on Duo's face when you walk into the party surrounded by women."

Heero grimaced. "So _he's_ going to be there… well, at least it'll be an eventful evening on way or another."

Quatre laughed. "You can say that again. Looking forward to it, Heero!"

 _If I make it through that evening with my sanity intact_ , mused Heero, _it'll be a real holiday miracle…_

...

 **December 23** **rd** **, A.C. 198**

"Wow!" cried Sasami as they boarded the shuttle, "It's so nice!"

Ayeka smiled as she studied their accommodations. "Quite so. It reminds me a little of that plane we took to your capital a while back, Sir Heero. That being said, I believe this is actually a step above that."

Heero nodded. "That's not surprising. It belongs to the Winner Family, after all. They're one of the wealthiest groups in the Earth Sphere. Setting up a shuttle like this for us is nothing to them."

"And the head of this family is an old friend of yours?" asked Kiyone.

"Yes," Heero replied, "You could call him an old war buddy."

"Will we get to meet him later?" Mihoshi chirped.

Heero nodded. "When we arrive at the colony, yes."

Washu smiled. "This should be interesting. I'm looking forward to the chance to study one of your orbital habitats up close."

"Forget the studying," said Ryoko with a grin, "When's the party start, Heero?"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Not until tomorrow night," he replied as he took his seat, "I wanted us to get to the colony early so we could get settled in first."

Ryoko shrugged as she grabbed the seat next to him. "Fine by me. Can we at least check out the colony?"

"By the time we arrive it will be quite late," said Heero, "We can spend a little time touring the colony after we've rested."

Ayeka sighed. "It's a pity that Azaka and Kamidake will be unable to join us on that outing. At least we were able to make suitable arrangements to bring them with us; I was afraid we'd have to leave them behind altogether."

"Did we really have to load them separately?" asked Sasami, "I feel bad that they're down with the cargo."

"It can't be helped," said Heero, "Having them travel openly with us would attract far too much attention. Disguising them as cargo is the best way to transport them to the colony. We can let them out of confinement once we've arrived at Quatre's."

"You called him an old war buddy," said Kiyone, "Is he around the same age as you?"

Heero nodded. "Yes."

"Is he cute like you?" asked Mihoshi.

"Mihoshi!" scolded Kiyone, "I don't think that's appropriate!"

"I disagree," said Washu with a smirk, "and I also know the answer to her question."

Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied Washu carefully. "How?"

Washu chuckled. "I have my ways."

"That I don't doubt a bit," Kiyone quipped.

"Well?" Mihoshi pressed, "Is he or not?"

Ayeka folded her arms. "I hardly think that matters. I doubt that there is another man in the Earth Sphere that is as dashing and noble as Sir Heero."

Ryoko grinned as she put her arm around Heero. "She's got that right, handsome!"

Ayeka scowled at the pirate. "Just because you are agreeing with me now does not mean that I shall allow your blatant and scandalous flirtations to go unpunished. Release Sir Heero at once!"

"Make me!" Ryoko shot back.

"That's enough, both of you," said Heero firmly as he gently removed her arm from her shoulder, "I've got enough to worry about without the two of you starting a fight that could possibly bring down the shuttle. Keep a lid on it until we get to the colony, all right?"

Ayeka nodded. "Very well, Sir Heero."

"Fine," muttered Ryoko as she glared at Ayeka.

 _This is going to be a long flight_ , thought Heero.

...

 _It's been quite a while since I was last in space_ , thought Washu as she drifted towards a window, _I forgot how relaxing zero gravity can be…_

The shuttle had been flying for several hours now, and some of its passengers were starting to get restless. Ryoko and Ayeka in particular seemed rather agitated by the slow pace of the trip, and while they had refrained from open fighting in no small part due to deference to Heero Washu was sure that the fragile peace couldn't last forever. Had they made the trip using Ryo-Ohki or even the _Yagami_ they would've already arrived at the colony, but Washu didn't mind the more leisurely journey that they were currently on. As far as she was concerned it was a good chance to observe the Earth and what surrounded it, and while her view with the naked eye might be limited she could call upon a small host of gadgets to aid her at a moment's notice.

She had already spotted several of the orbital colonies, and from what Heero had told them Washu knew that the few she had seen were but a fraction of the full number that had been constructed. If her young host was to be believed, there were far more people living in them now that resided on the surface of the planet. She saw no reason to doubt him, and the population disparity actually went quite some ways towards explaining some of the historical tension between the colonies and humanity's home planet.

 _And he got caught up right in the middle of it all_ , she mused, recalling the stolen file, _I hope the peace he fought so hard for sticks around. It'd be a shame if he was forced back onto the battlefield. Then again…_

 _…who can say how much further his abilities would develop were he thrust back into open warfare?_

Her gaze idly drifted from the window to the object of her fascination. The experiment with the Dimension Turner had certainly paid dividends, but it had failed to satisfy Washu's hunger. There was so much more that she wanted to find out about Heero, especially with regards to what the future held for him. He wasn't meant to remain a humble peacekeeper on some backwater planet, after all.

He was meant for so much more.

She saw him floating near a window, his gaze fixed on the Earth below. It was hard to guess what might be going through his mind at the moment, but since his focus wasn't on any of the girls under his charge he must've felt reasonably secure with regards to their safety. Washu couldn't blame him; the crew of the shuttle had mostly left them alone after takeoff, and there were no other passengers on this flight. With nothing better to do, she drifted towards him. His gaze remained focused out the window, but Washu was sure that she was aware of her approach.

"It's quite a view," she said with a smirk, "Having been cooped up in stasis for a few centuries, I can definitely appreciate the shift in perspective."

Heero nodded. "I would imagine so."

She looked over his shoulder and down at the planet. "Peaceful little world, isn't it? Your doing, I take it?"

"Appearances can be deceiving," Heero replied, "although it is far calmer now than it was just a few years ago. You would know a thing or two about that though, wouldn't you?"

"Whatever are you talking about?" asked Washu, "I've been out cold for hundreds of years, after all."

"You don't have to play dumb," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "I don't know how you did it, but your behavior during our little set of misadventures with the Dimension Turner was enough to tell me that you found some information that you shouldn't have access to."

Washu chuckled. "Well… I may have poked my nose where it didn't belong. It's an old habit of mine. I've had it for millennia, so you can't expect me to ditch it overnight."

"I don't know how old you are," said Heero, "but age is supposed to bring wisdom. The years have taught you discretion, haven't they?"

"Don't worry," said Washu, "I don't plan on releasing what I've learned to the general public."

"What about to the others in our little group?" asked Heero as he nodded at their companions.

"You've given them more hints than I have," she replied, "You know as well as I do that they're curious."

Heero nodded. "They are. Given the circumstances, I can't say that I blame them."

Washu smiled. "Indeed. I won't tell you what I do have, but I will say this; even my knowledge is incomplete."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "The self-proclaimed greatest genius in the universe admitting she doesn't know everything? Did Hell freeze over while I wasn't looking?"

Washu chuckled. "You're lucky that I find you so interesting, otherwise I'd be giving you the same frog-treatment that Ayeka and Ryoko received when I first woke up."

Heero shrugged. "What can I say? I like to take risks."

"That you do," said Washu with a nod, "That's one of your more endearing qualities, actually. I appreciate someone who's willing to stick their neck out, and from what I've learned you certainly are a bold one."

"Perhaps," said Heero, "but that boldness has been tempered by experience."

"To an extent," Washu countered with a smirk, "but you can't hide the truth; when the chips are down, you'll bet big. I'd expect nothing less from you."

 _Something you actually have in common with my daughter_ , she mused as she glanced over at Ryoko, _You're more restrained than her, but you do have a bit of a reckless streak…_

To her surprise she actually saw him smirk. "You might be right. I can think of at least a few people who wouldn't argue with your assertion."

"Will I get to meet any of them at the party tomorrow night?" she asked.

Heero nodded. "Some of them, at least. A few actually have prior obligations due to this party being hosted around the same time that the government holds its annual winter holiday celebration, but there are others that will be in attendance."

"And you trust all of them?" asked Washu, "If this is a party held by private citizens rather than government officials, wouldn't that increase the chance of word of our true nature leaking out?"

Heero shook his head. "Not with this crowd. I think I have a pretty good idea as to who else Quatre's invited for this little get-together. We should be fine. Well, we should as long as we can keep Ayeka and Ryoko from starting a fight and unleashing their powers."

Washu chuckled. "That might be a tall order. Do you think you're up to the job?"

Heero shrugged. "One way or another, we'll know soon enough."

Washu nodded. "I suppose we will."

 _You've certainly grown quite capable with regards to handling them_ , she thought with a smile, _and that's despite the fact that the two of them are extraordinarily powerful beings. Then again, the same could be said of you._

 _You just don't know it yet…_

….

"Is that it? Is that where the party is?" asked Sasami excited as she pointed out the window.

Following her gaze, Heero nodded as he saw the gargantuan wheel-shaped colony grow ever closer. "Yes. That's Quatre's colony, Sasami."

"Hooray!" cheered Mihoshi, "We're almost there!"

 _Indeed_ , Heero thought with no small measure of relief, _and just about without incident, too. Ayeka and Ryoko didn't blast any holes in the shuttle, so I'll count that as a win any day of the week._

"Impressive," said Ayeka, "Your world may not be quite as advanced as Jurai, Sir Heero, but the structures your people are capable of building are still marvels of engineering."

Ryoko whistled. "Not bad. Seen bigger, but I've seen smaller too. I wonder what it's like on the inside…"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"How many people live here?" asked Kiyone, her eyes narrowing as she studied the colony.

"The populations of the colonies tend to fluctuate fairly regularly," Heero replied, "Workers and officials are often sent from one habitat to another as needed, and their families tend to travel with them. As of the last census, this particular colony has a more-or-less permanent resident count of roughly 900,000. This is supplemented by an additional temporary or seasonal resident population that's a little over 200,00."

"So over a million people all together, eh?" said Washu with a smirk, "Your government needs to think on a larger scale, Heero."

"I'm not sure what sort of orbital habitats your accustomed to," said Heero, "Perhaps our colonies have a smaller population than their analogues in the Empire of Jurai, but there are a great many of them in the Earth Sphere. More are being constructed on a regular basis, and that's not even counting the terraforming efforts underway on Mars and the habitats that were built on the Moon. Earth may be humanity's birthplace, but nowadays about 90% of the human population lives someplace other than her surface."

Washu nodded. "I'm well aware of that. After all, that information's public knowledge, so it wasn't exactly hard for me to find."

They were interrupted by a voice coming over the shuttle's intercom. "Please take your seats. We are commencing final approach."

"About damn time," said Ryoko as she sat down next to Heero, "We could've been here much faster if we'd just taken Ryo-Ohki, you know."

"I already told you," Heero replied, "We want to keep a low profile with this trip. Taking Ryo-Ohki would've defeated the purpose of that."

Ayeka shook her head. "You're such an impatient woman, Ryoko. Really, do you not understand that patience truly is a virtue?"

Ryoko scowled. "Oh, save the high-and-mighty bullshit! You're as tired of being cooped up on this shuttle as I am, and you know it!"

Ayeka glared at her. "Well, at least I'm able to endure such a flight without acting like an impatient brat!"

"Enough, both of you," said Heero firmly, "I'd rather avoid the shuttle going up in flames just before we arrive at our destination. Lock it down, you got that?"

Ryoko sighed. "Fine, whatever."

Ayeka bowed, but not before shooting one final glare at Ryoko. "Very well, Sir Heero."

 _I'm seriously not paid enough for this_ , Heero mused wearily as the shuttle's intended docking bay grew larger and larger.

They slipped inside the colony a few minutes later. The shuttle came to a smooth halt, and as Heero looked outside the window he immediately spotted a small group start approaching them. There was a familiar face at the head of the pack, and that didn't surprise Heero in the least.

"Courteous to a fault," he muttered, "I should've guessed that he'd want to greet us in person."

"What are you talking about, Heero?" asked Ryoko.

Heero shook his head as he stood up. "You'll find out for yourself soon enough."

He led the way off the shuttle, and as he and the others descended they were met by none other than their host. Quatre gave them a friendly smile and wave as they approached.

"Hey there, Heero!" he said, "How was the flight?"

"We made it here one piece," Heero replied as he shook his friend's hand, "That's enough for me. It's good to see you again, Quatre."

Quatre nodded. "Likewise. It really has been too long, although I can definitely understand it; you've had your hands full for quite some time."

Behind and to the right of Quatre, Heero saw Sally smirk. "That's one way to put it."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "I thought you weren't going to arrive at the colony until tomorrow?"

Sally shook her head. "That was the original plan, but Director Une wanted me to move out early to make sure the groundwork was complete."

"And is it?" asked Heero.

"Indeed," said a tall and muscular Arab man standing behind and to the left of Quatre, "Everything has been prepared."

Heero nodded. "Thanks. Good to see you too, Rasheed."

The leader of the Maganac Corps smiled. "You as well, Heero Yuy."

"So," said Quatre, nodding past Heero, "aren't you going to introduce us, Heero?"

Heero turned and looked at the girls behind him. He couldn't help but notice that they seemed rather interested in Quatre.

 _This could get out of hand_ , he thought, _I really hope they show some restraint…_

"Of course," he said, "Everyone, this is Quatre Raberba Winner, the head of the Winner Family. He's the old friend that I was telling you about on the way here. The man next to him is Rasheed, his head of security. I'm sure you all remember Sally."

Ayeka bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ayeka Jurai."

Sasami smiled and held up Ryo-Ohki. "Hi there! I'm Sasami! Nice to meet you! This little girl's Ryo-Ohki. Say hi, Ryo-Ohki!"

"Meow!" the living starship cried.

"Name's Ryoko," said the lovely pirate with a wink, "Don't you forget it."

"I'm Mihoshi," the blonde space cop chirped, "Any friend of Heero's is a friend of mine!"

"It's an honor to make your acquaintance," said Kiyone, "Anyone Heero refers to as an old war buddy must be worthy of respect."

"My name's Washu," the red-headed scientist said with a smirk, "So you're one of Heero's pals, eh? How interesting…"

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you tell them about me, Heero?"

Heero shrugged. "That you're an old comrade and filthy rich. Beyond that, not much."

Quatre's eyes narrowed as he focused on Washu in particular. "Really? Why does it feel like at least one of them might know a little more than that?"

 _As perceptive as ever_ , Heero mused, _I suppose it's good that he hasn't lost his touch, but right now it's a bit inconvenient…_

For her part, Washu simply rolled with it and gave Quatre a playful smile. "I always know more than I let on, handsome. It's just the way things are with me."

Quatre looked for a moment like he was about to press the matter, but he declined, much to Heero's relief; he had a few guesses as to how Washu had become so knowledgeable about not just him but his associates, and he had a feeling that Sally wouldn't be too happy if one of those theories was confirmed.

"Master Quatre," said Rasheed, "It would be wise to leave here soon lest we begin to draw unwanted attention."

Sally nodded. "He's right, Quatre. We really should be getting Heero and his companions settled in. If nothing else, it'll help both Director Une and myself sleep a little easier tonight."

Quatre nodded and smiled. "Of course. Heero, if you and your friends will follow me, I'll take you to the penthouse that's been set up for you."

Heero saw Ryoko grin. "A penthouse, eh? Nice to be getting the VIP treatment! You're all right, Quatre."

"I can't wait to see it!" chirped Mihoshi.

Kiyone yawned. "As long as it's got a comfortable bed, that'll be enough for me. I'm bushed."

"Me too," said Sasami as she stretched, "I could use a nap."

"Meow," groaned Ryo-Ohki.

"Lord Quatre," said Ayeka nervously, "Please have your people be careful with regards to unloading our luggage! There are some very sensitive items in the cargo hold."

Quatre smiled. "Don't worry, they'll take good care of your belongings, and that includes Azaka and Kamidake."

Ayeka nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, "Also, there's no need to be so formal. You can simply call me Quatre, Ayeka."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "Oh! Well… I shall try to remember that… Quatre."

"Come on, let's get going," said Washu as she stifled a yawn, "Even a genius like me needs her beauty sleep."

 _Looks like I got off easy_ , Heero mused as Quatre led the group towards a nearby exit, _Everyone's got jetlag, which means I should be able to get a little bit of shuteye myself. Heaven knows that I'm going to need it…_

….

"Here we are," said Quatre as he opened the door to the penthouse.

Ayeka's eyes widened as she stepped inside. "My, my… it's beautiful!"

While she certainly had no complaints regarding her past accommodations with Heero, this new temporary residence was a cut above the rest. As she and the others followed Quatre inside she saw the penthouse open up into a broad combined living room-dining room with space for not just their group but a few additional guests as well if need be. A large flat-screen television was mounted on one of the walls, and there were several couches and chairs covered in what looked like very fine black leather. The broad windows gave a wonderful view of the interior of the colony, although Ayeka had to fight an initial wave of disorientation as she watched the city curve upwards due to the wheel-shaped structure of the orbital habitat.

Ryoko whistled. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"It's perfect!" cheered Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"Wow," gasped Mihoshi, "Kiyone, look at this! It's like we're rich people!"

Her partner was trying to keep her composure, but she still looked quite impressed at the setup. "Well, they weren't kidding when they said it'd be high class accommodations."

Washu gave the place an approving nod. "I suppose it'll do for a few days."

"Yes, it will," said Heero as he turned to Quatre, "Thanks again. Sorry for all the trouble."

Quatre laughed. "Hey, I was the one that gave you the invite in the first place, remember? It's no trouble at all, really."

Turning around, Ayeka saw some of Quatre's men hauling in the two large boxes that contained Azaka and Kamidake. They brought them into the living room before standing them up and opening them.

"Oh, at long last!" said Azaka as he floated out of the container, "It is so good to be able to move again."

"Indeed," chirped Kamidake, "and what a marvelous new residence we have here!"

Quatre whistled. "So those are royal guardians, huh? They're certainly… unique."

"Quite so," said Ayeka as she smiled at her temporary host, "Thank you so much for going through the effort to transport them here. I shall not forget your hospitality, Lord Quatre."

Quatre nodded. "You're welcome... and please, just Quatre, remember?"

"Oh, of course!" said Ayeka as she bowed her head, "Forgive me! It's just that you're the head of a great house and a friend of Sir Heero, so… well, I suppose old habits die hard."

Quatre smirked as he turned to Heero. "Sir Heero, huh? How long has she been calling you that?"

Heero shrugged. "About as long as she's been staying with me. Titles seem to be a thing with her, and I could definitely think of worse ones for me."

Quatre patted him on the shoulder. "I guess you're right. Still, you'd better hope that Duo doesn't hear her calling you that at the party tomorrow night."

Heero groaned. "Did you _have_ to invite him?"

Quatre smiled. "Of course! Come on, Heero; he was a Gundam pilot just like you and me, after all! It'd be rude not to invite him."

"You keep calling yourselves Gundam pilots," said Ryoko, "How many of you guys are there?"

"Five," said Heero, "Quatre, how many of us will be at the party tomorrow night?"

"Four if you include you and me," his old friend replied, "Duo and Trowa are coming, but Wufei's on bodyguard duty for Lady Une at the government's holiday celebration."

Heero nodded. "That figures. I bet he could get the time off if he wanted to, but he's never really been the type of guy to enjoy parties."

Quatre smirked. "Neither have you, if I recall correctly."

 _I suppose that would make sense_ , Ayeka mused, _Sir Heero takes his duty quite seriously, so I can see him not being the sort that normally takes part in festivities. Still, he must take some time for leisurely celebration, especially if the rest of us will be partaking in merriment._

"Well," said Quatre after a moment, "as much as I'd like to stick around and catch up, I'm afraid I've still got some work waiting for me back at the office. Do you need anything from me before I head out?"

Heero shook his head. "I think we'll be all right."

Quatre nodded. "Good. I'll have some of my sisters come by tomorrow morning to take your guests dress shopping. If you want, I can also have Rasheed help you get a decent suit, Heero."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall you mentioning that this was a black-tie event, Quatre."

Quatre smiled. "Oh yeah, that's right. Sorry, must've slipped my mind!"

"It's fine," said Heero, "I'll handle my own clothes shopping. Will your sisters be all right with the girls?"

"Of course, they will," said Quatre, "Don't worry, Heero; they know how important it is to be discreet in this situation. They'll take good care of your companions, Heero, so don't worry about a thing."

Ayeka smiled. "It will be an honor to be escorted by your family tomorrow, Quatre. I assure you that we will not cause any trouble for them."

"I appreciate that," Quatre replied, "Don't be surprised if they've got questions for you, though."

"I think we'll be just fine," said Kiyone.

"Yay!" cheered Mihoshi, "We get to meet more new people!"

"And we get to go shopping!" cried Sasami, "That's gonna be fun!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Ryoko smiled, and Ayeka could not help but notice her gaze was focused on Heero. "Dress shopping, eh? I wonder what kind I should get…"

"Haven't done anything formal in a long time," said Washu with a smirk, "This should be amusing."

"I hope we get to go along," said Azaka.

"We must if we are to continue to perform our duties as proper Royal Guardians," chimed in Kamidake.

Heero shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here. You'll draw too much attention otherwise."

Quatre nodded. "Heero's right. I understand that your purpose is to protect Ayeka and Sasami, but we can't have you wandering the colony in plain view of the residents. I hope you can understand our security concerns."

Ayeka smiled. "It is quite all right. Azaka, Kamidake; you shall remain in this penthouse until our time at this colony is concluded. Is that understood?"

"But what about your safety, Princess Ayeka?" asked Azaka.

"If you were put at risk in any way it would be an irremovable mark of shame for us!" chirped Kamidake.

"I will be quite safe, as will Sasami," Ayeka replied, "Quatre is a friend of Sir Heero, after all. I am quite comfortable entrusting the safety of Sasami and myself to him and his family. You are not to leave here under any circumstances, is that clear?"

"Very well, Princess Ayeka," the two guardians replied together.

Quatre nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation. I'm sorry, but I really must be leaving now. I'll see you all at the party tomorrow night!"

 _He seems like a very nice young man_ , thought Ayeka as she watched him and his subordinates leave the penthouse, _His manners and bearing were impeccable, too. He would not look out of place amongst the noble families of the Empire…_

"Man, check this place out!" said Ryoko with a grin as she jumped onto one of the couches, "This is great!"

Kiyone smiled. "We could definitely do worse, that's for sure."

Mihoshi yawned. "Which bedroom's mine? I'm getting sleepy."

"Pick any one that you want," said Heero as he looked around, "It would seem that we have plenty to choose from."

Sasami tugged on Ayeka's arm. "I'm going to bed, Ayeka. Will you come too?"

Ayeka smiled. "I'll be along shortly, Sasami. There's no need for you to stay up on my account."

Sasami nodded. "Okay. Good night, then. Come on, Ryo-Ohki."

"Meow!" cried the cat-rabbit as Sasami took her into one of the bedrooms.

"I think I'll hit the hay, too," said Washu, "It sounds like we've got a full day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Try not to make any permanent modifications to your room," said Heero, "We'll only be here a few days, and I don't need Quatre complaining about unwanted changes to his property."

Washu waved dismissively. "Don't worry, I won't do anything that can't be reversed. See you in the morning."

"I might as well turn in, too," said Kiyone, "No offense, Heero, but your government needs to make its shuttles faster."

"No taken," Heero replied, "Sleep well."

Eventually it was just Ayeka, Heero, Ryoko, Azaka and Kamidake left in the living room. The pirate had already grabbed a remote from the coffee table in front of the couch and was flipping through channels on the television, while Heero went out onto the balcony a few seconds later. After she was convinced that Ryoko was fully absorbed in the show she was watching, Ayeka quietly slipped out to join Heero. There was a rather contemplative look on his face as he regarded the city that stretched all the way up the horizon until it had gone completely around the bend and out of sight.

"What do you think of the view?" he asked as she leaned against the railing next to him.

Ayeka smiled. "It's quite marvelous, truly! The way your people have constructed these colonial cities is something you should be very proud of. Your world may lag behind the Empire of Jurai on the technological scale, but what it has accomplished without outside interference remains impressive!"

Heero nodded. "Thanks. I'm sure Sally and Director Une would appreciate your sentiment, too."

"They're in charge of providing protection for the people residing in these colonies as well as the surface population, right?" asked Ayeka, "That must be a truly challenging undertaking."

"It's definitely not the easiest job in the world," Heero replied, "Still, overall Preventers has done pretty well with regards to keeping the peace between Earth and the colonies. There will always be disputes and tensions, but I'd like to believe we truly turned a corner after the war. I suppose time will tell one way or another."

"That reminds me," said Ayeka, "Your friend, Quatre… he really did fight in the same war as you? I know you said so earlier, but after meeting him in person, well… I don't mean to doubt your word, Sir Heero, but…"

"He doesn't seem to fit the mold of a colonial freedom fighter at first glance, right?" Heero finished for her.

Ayeka nodded sheepishly. "Yes. Again, it's hardly my desire to question you, but…"

She was greatly relieved when he gave her a small smile. "Ayeka, it's all right, really. I don't blame you in the slightest for questioning what I said earlier, especially after you just met Quatre for the first time. Given your upbringing, would I be wrong in presuming you would imagine him as someone who would fit more naturally in the royal court as opposed to the battlefield?"

Those had been her exact thoughts, and even after all the time she had spent with him Ayeka was still amazed with how her host was able to read people the way he did. "Well… yes. In fact, given his current position as the head of a wealthy and influential family, his closest analogue in the Empire of Jurai would be one of the leaders of the nobility."

"That's not a bad way to put it," said Heero, "However, Quatre doesn't really exert his influence in political maneuvers. His family and the conglomerate it controls are one of the strongest commercial entities in the Earth Sphere, but their involvement in governmental affairs is only in an indirect manner."

"How so?" asked Ayeka, genuinely intrigued.

"The Winner Family is a major player in the orbital construction industry," said Heero, "Therefore they consult with the government on a regular basis regarding the building of new space colonies and the maintenance of existing ones. They also do lobbying on behalf of colonial residents in order to improve standards of living, and Quatre's occasionally used his company as a mediating party in disputes between the surface government and local colonial authorities. He has no aspirations for actual political power, though. His preference is to use his wealth and influence to make the Earth Sphere a more comfortable and equitable place for everyone to live, whether they be from the surface or the colonies."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. In the Empire of Jurai, there are several corporate giants known as keiretsu, which are basically sets of companies with interlocking business relationships. These keiretsu dominate entire sectors of the Empire's economy and are typically lead by either a member of the titled nobility or the head of one of Jurai's great merchant clans. While officially they are commercial entities focused on profit, they also play an informal political role by lobbying for specific policies meant to improve matters such as worker relations and the security of the Empire's primary trade routes. Your friend Quatre would be quite at home as the head of one of our keiretsu, I imagine."

"Interesting," said Heero, "I bet he'd like to hear more about the Empire at the party tomorrow night."

"Would it really be all right for me to provide him with information about where I'm from?" asked Ayeka, "You and Lady Sally have gone to great lengths to keep the very existence of Sasami and myself a secret, after all."

"That's true," Heero replied, "but the circumstances are different here. Everyone at this party will be part of Quatre's circle of friends, which means they're people that we can trust. He'll have already told them about you and the others before the celebrations begin, along with the need to keep your true nature from spreading beyond the bounds of the party. Feel free to speak openly of the Empire and its culture; I imagine your willingness to educate others regarding your homeland will make you quite popular tomorrow night."

Ayeka smiled. "In that case, consider me Jurai's cultural ambassador for tomorrow's festivities. Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Sir Heero, I cannot begin to thank you enough for bringing us all here!"

"Thank Quatre," said Heero, "He was the one that extended the invitation and handled the necessary arrangements. I'm just along for the ride this time."

Ayeka shook her head. "You are far too modest, Sir Heero. I know that you worked hard with Quatre to coordinate everything and ensure our safety. For that, you have my deepest gratitude."

"Don't mention it," said Heero.

"By the way," said Ayeka cautiously, "with regards to the other Gundam pilots that we'll be meeting tomorrow night… are they more like Quatre or yourself?"

A small smirk appeared on his face. "Neither, really. We're all pretty unique individuals. You'll see for yourself tomorrow night."

Ayeka tried and utterly failed to stifle a yawn. "I… I suppose I will. My apologies, Sir Heero, but I… I don't think I can stay up any longer."

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It was a pretty long flight, after all. Get some rest."

Ayeka smiled. "Good night, Sir Heero. I look forward to seeing you again with the dawn."

….

The television was still on in the living room of the penthouse, but Ryoko had long since passed out. Quietly checking in on the rest of the girls, Heero was relieved to see that all of them were fast asleep too. As badly as he wanted to hit the hay himself, though, he knew that he had to seize this opportunity to get some very important errands done; he doubted he would get another chance, especially considering the timeframe he was on.

"Sir Heero," said Azaka as he headed for the door, "Just where are going?"

"Is it not your duty to watch over everyone here?" asked Kamidake.

"I won't be gone long," said Heero, hoping that the guardians' voices hadn't woken anyone, "I just need to get a little bit of shopping done."

"Shopping?" said Azaka, "At such a late hour?"

"What sort of shopping cannot wait until morning?" asked Kamidake.

Heero shook his head. "It's… well, it's kind of a custom this time of year. Please don't say anything to Ayeka or the others. I'll be back before they all wake up, and I promise that this shopping will be of benefit to all of them, but only if you keep it a secret. Can I count on you to do that?"

"Well," said Azaka, "if it is of benefit to Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami, then I suppose we can."

"Do you require any further assistance?" asked Kamidake, "If there is a way we can help you help Princess Ayeka and Princess Sasami then it would be our pleasure to do so."

"Just don't wake the others," said Heero before slipping out the door.

 _Good thing the colonies never truly sleep_ , he thought as he headed for the elevator, making a mental list of the stores he would need to hit, _I just might be able to pull this off…_

….

 **December 24** **th** **, A.C. 198**

 _I can't believe they're still getting ready_ , Heero mused as he glanced over at the clock on the wall, _It didn't take me nearly as long to change as it is them. Women…_

Checking his reflection in the window, he took a moment to straighten out his tie. Formal wear wasn't Heero's usual style, but he had to admit that the suit Rasheed had helped him pick out was pretty nice. The fabric was high-end, and the black pants and dinner jacket combined with the pristine white shirt, black tie and silver cufflinks were a good fit. When the entire ensemble was combined with Heero's usual alert and disciplined bearing the Gundam pilot could not help but feel like he wouldn't be out of place in a James Bond movie. He was even armed, although he was naturally taking care to conceal his pistol in his jacket so as not to alarm anyone.

"Are you ladies almost done?" he called out, "Our ride's supposed to be here any minute now."

"Just a moment!" Ayeka cried.

"We'll be out real soon, Heero!" yelled Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"You can't rush beauty, handsome," called Washu.

"Damn straight," yelled Ryoko, "Trust me, Heero; the wait's gonna be worth it for ya!"

"This is so exciting!" he heard Mihoshi cry, "Kiyone, when was the last time we dressed up like this?"

"It's been a while," Kiyone replied, and she sounded a little nervous, "I still don't know if this was the right pick…"

"It'll be fine!" said Mihoshi, "Come on, let's get out there and strut our stuff!"

 _Someone's enjoying herself_ , thought Heero, _I suppose that's better than the alternative…_

"Princess Ayeka?" asked Azaka, "Is everything all right?"

"Do you require assistance?" chimed Kamidake.

"No!" came Ayeka's sharp reply, "No, I am quite all right, thank you!"

A minute later, Ayeka was actually the first of the girls to emerge from her room. She was adorned in a white dress with a silver sash. The gown was quite fitting for a crown princess, and it somehow managed to cling to her body in a manner that was both elegant and enticing. She stepped towards Heero with a nervous smile on her face.

"What do you think, Sir Heero?" she asked.

He nodded. "You look lovely, Ayeka."

Her smile grew. "Thank you, Sir Heero!"

"You're an absolute gem, Princess Ayeka!" said Azaka.

"Indeed," chimed Kamidake, "If only your parents could see you now!"

"What about me?" chirped Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Looking past Ayeka, Heero saw her younger sister come into the room with Ryo-Ohki at her feet. Sasami's gown was a cute pink dress with a white flower pattern, and there was a pink bow in her hair. Heero had to admit that Quatre's sisters had done a good job in picking her outfit for the evening; it went quite well with her innocent and cheerful personality.

"You look very nice," he replied, "Did you have fun picking that out?"

Sasami smiled. "Yeah! It wasn't the first dress I tried on, but I like this one the most!"

"You have become a wonderful young flower, Sasami," said Azaka.

"Such a cute dress you found!" cheered Kamidake.

"Remember what I told you, Sasami," said Ayeka, "If you're going to hold Ryo-Ohki while wearing that, be careful to avoid getting her hair on it."

"Don't worry, I will," said Sasami.

"Come on, Mihoshi," Heero heard Kiyone say, "We need to get moving!"

"Coming, Kiyone!" cried Mihoshi.

The two of them came into the living room a moment later, and Heero was impressed with what he saw. Mihoshi had never struck him as the elegant type, but her smooth yellow dress and the golden chain around her waist fit her quite well; she really did look like a high-society girl. Kiyone's dress was a subdued dark green gown with a light green sash, and it clung to her athletic form in all the right places. Both girls were actually blushing as they looked at Heero, although it was much more noticeable with Kiyone.

"Well?" said Kiyone nervously.

"How do we look, Heero?" chirped Mihoshi.

"Great," said Heero, "Looks like Quatre's sisters really know what they're doing."

Kiyone smiled, her relief palpable. "Yes, I would've been lost without them; I can't remember the last time I had to get a dress for an occasion like this."

Mihoshi was beaming. "It was so much fun, and his sisters were so nice to us! Oh, I can't wait to see them at the party!"

"Indeed," came Washu's voice from behind them, "I really ought to thank them again once we arrive; it's been quite a long time since I've really had to dress to impress."

Looking past Kiyone and Mihoshi, Heero was surprised by Washu's appearance. The normally devious and questionably-sane scientist now looked like a woman ready to walk the red carpet. Her crimson dress went very well with her hair, and Heero could also see a pair of silver earrings on her as well.

Washu gave him a warm smile. "All right, I suppose it's my turn now. What's the verdict, Heero?"

"Very impressive," he replied, "You clean up quite well."

She smirked. "Glad to hear you say so. I never thought I'd be attending any fancy get-togethers while on this planet, so it's nice to know I can still pull off a high-society look should the occasion call it."

"That just leaves Ryoko, now," said Kiyone.

"I wonder what's taking her?" asked Mihoshi.

"If she delays us further, I say we should leave without her," Ayeka huffed, "She knows just as well as the rest of us what time we're supposed to leave!"

"Trying to ditch me?" came the voice of the pirate, "Sorry, but that's not gonna happen tonight."

That was when Heero saw her, and it took every last bit of his self-control to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. There was Ryoko, and she looked absolutely stunning. The black dress she wore clung to her body like a fine glove, and as she did a little spin for his viewing pleasure Heero got a perfect view of how it was open at the back, showing off a considerable amount of skin. A silver chain around her waist capped off the ensemble, and from the light in her eyes Heero was pretty sure Ryoko was well aware of the effect she was having on him.

"Don't leave me hanging, handsome," she said with a grin, "Let's have it!"

The last thing Heero wanted to do was reveal to the rest of the girls that he had a favorite among them, but even so he could not entirely keep up the mask. " _Beautiful…_ "

She strolled up and kissed him on the cheek. "You always know just what to say, hotshot."

Ayeka was fuming. "Ryoko! You… you… you _vamp!_ "

Ryoko put a hand to her ear. "Oh, what's that? You'll have to speak up, Ayeka. I can't hear you over the sound of your raging jealousy!"

Sparks began flying through the air around Ayeka, and Heero decided to step in before this became a fight that would destroy the penthouse. "Enough, both of you. We need to get going; the limo should be waiting for us. It would look bad if we were late to the party."

Ayeka sighed, but not before shooting one more glare at Ryoko. "Very well, Sir Heero."

"All right!" cheered Ryoko, "Let's get to that party!"

 _Indeed_ , thought Heero as he led the way out the door, _and let's hope we make it through the party without reducing Quatre's home to rubble._

….

Normally a black-tie event wasn't his style, but Duo Maxwell could make exceptions for old friends. Checking his reflection in a nearby mirror, he smoothed over a wrinkle in his suit as he waited for the party to officially get underway. His long brown hair was still tied into that signature braid of his, and his blue eyes were gleaming with excitement as he kept glancing towards the front entrance, hoping to see another old friend of his walk in at any moment now.

"Someone's eager, aren't they?" said a very familiar female voice.

Duo grinned as his lovely wife approached him. Her black hair was tied back into a bun, and her emerald eyes matched her dress perfectly. It was a very refreshing change from her usual attire, especially considering how dirty said attire tended to get from her work in the junkyard. Of course, seeing Hilde Maxwell getting herself dirty while working in the junkyard with him could be pretty fun in its own right.

"Maybe a little," Duo replied as Hilde looped her arm through his, "It's been a long time since we've all gathered like this, after all. I've been wondering how my old buddy's been doing."

"I'm sure Heero's been just fine," said Hilde with a smile, "To be honest, I'm a little surprised that Quatre was able to talk him into attending. He's never really been a party animal, after all."

Duo chuckled. "Yeah, and the parties he did go to back in the day had a habit of getting attacked."

"He wasn't alone there," said Hilde as she pecked him on the cheek, "You Gundam pilots are just magnets for trouble sometimes."

Duo smirked. "You got me there. I hope trouble doesn't decide to follow us here; it'd be a shame to make a mess of Quatre's place."

 _Hell knows that I wouldn't be able to afford to pay for anything that gets broken here_ , he mused as he looked around, _I always knew that Quatre was rich, but he's been so down-to-Earth about his wealth that I keep forgetting he owns high-end pads like this._

The party was being hosted in an extravagant penthouse, much larger than any Duo had ever seen before. It actually took up the top two stories of the building that housed it, and that also included the rooftop garden where the main festivities would take place. Inside and out, the furniture was both sturdy and high-class, and every table in sight was topped with expensive appetizers and fine wines. The two of them were actually in the upper living room, having only just arrived a little while ago.

"With the security Quatre has here, I doubt we have anything to worry about," said a familiar male voice.

Trowa turned around and grinned as he saw an old friend approach. "Trowa! How's it going, buddy?"

Apart from the nice suit that he wore, Trowa Barton hadn't changed a bit from the last time that Duo had seen him. He still wore his thick brown hair in a hawk's wing that obscured the right side of his face, and his green eyes still had a rather detached feel to them. Nonetheless, there was a small smile on his face now, which Duo counted as a considerable improvement over his usual attitude.

"It's going quite well," he replied, "Good to see you again, Duo. You as well, Hilde."

Duo waited for his wife to hug the Gundam pilot from L3 before stepping forward and giving him a hearty pat on the shoulder. "It's been way too long, man."

"He's right," said Hilde, "How's the circus treating you?"

"As well as ever," said Trowa, "I think I'm the only one there now with the nerve required for Catherine's knife act. The manager gave me a raise because of it; I think he's afraid that the competition will try to headhunt me."

Hilde smiled. "Well, at least you know you've got job security."

"Speaking of the circus," said Duo as he looked around, "where's Catherine? Don't tell me she's sitting this out!"

Trowa shook his head. "She's right over there."

It only took a moment for Duo to spot Catherine Bloom. The star knife-thrower of Trowa's circus looked as lovely as ever, with her thick brown hair tied back into a ponytail and her grey eyes sparkling with vibrant energy. Her gown for the evening was a long violet dress, and she was currently engaged in a friendly conversation with Rasheed.

 _Maybe more than just friendly_ , Duo mused, _She seems pretty happy to see him._

He turned to Trowa. "Looks like she's enjoying herself, and the party hasn't even started yet. You worried?"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's not like that with us?"

"Duo!" scolded Hilde as she elbowed him in the chest, "Sometimes you are just the worst!"

"Hey, now!" Duo protested as he rubbed the spot she'd hit, "I'm just looking after my buddy. Sure, Rasheed's a good guy, but I never knew he was the type to chat up other men's women."

"He's not," Trowa shot back, "and what Catherine and I have isn't like that. I already told you; she's been like an older sister to me."

Duo raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Catherine. "So it really doesn't bother you that she and Rasheed are flirting, then?"

Trowa shook his head. "Not at all. If Quatre trusts him with his security, then I think I can trust him with Catherine. Besides, they're both adults and can make their own decisions."

Hilde smiled. "That's a good attitude to have, Trowa."

Duo shrugged. "All right, all right. Still, you can't play the single guy role forever, Trowa. Don't tell me there isn't a girl out there that's caught your eye. I'm sure you've got plenty of fans with your circus act!"

"I haven't had the time," said Trowa, "I've been busy."

Duo shook his head. "That's a load of bull. There's always time for a guy to go after a girl."

Hilde folded her arms. "You do realize that I'm standing right here, don't you, Duo?"

Duo grinned. "Hey, relax, Hilde! I only meant for single guys, not for a married man like myself."

Hilde smiled after a moment. "Good."

"Nice to see that you're as lively as ever, Duo," said a familiar female voice, "Some things never do change."

The group turned to see a slender woman in a black evening gown approaching. As always, she wore her platinum blonde hair long, and it fell all the way down to her hips. Her purple eyes sparkled with a devious light, while her rather sharp and prominent eyebrows were narrowed as she evaluated those before her.

Duo smirked. "Well, someone's got to be the life of the party. Been a long time, Dorothy."

Dorothy Catalonia smiled. "Indeed, it has. Nice to see you as well, Hilde. You too, Trowa."

"How've you been?" asked Hilde, "I think the last time I saw you, you'd just been elected to Parliament."

Dorothy nodded. "Yes. The youngest representative in the legislature, as the press is all too keen to remind me. It's been a most… _amusing_ experience."

Trowa folded his arms. "I'll bet. Let me guess; the rest of the representatives underestimate you, and then you turn the tables on them when they least expect it and savor the looks of shock on their faces. Does that sound about right?"

Dorothy giggled. "Oh, you _do_ know me well, Trowa. It's always entertaining to watch my colleagues despair as they're bested in negotiations by a woman young enough to be their granddaughter. I must say, if I'd known that genuine democratic politics could be so much fun I would've lobbied my grandfather for reform a long time ago."

"I'm pretty sure he would've shot you down," Duo quipped, "Duke Dermail never struck me as the type to be accepting of democracy."

Dorothy sighed. "I suppose you're right. It's a pity, really. With his position and influence, he could've steered events down that route. He might've even saved his own life in the process. Alas, that's nothing more than another little 'what if' on history's giant pile of them."

"I'm surprised you're here," said Hilde, "Don't get me wrong; it's good to catch up with you. I just figured you'd be at the party the government's throwing over on MO II."

Dorothy shook her head. "The invitation to that gathering was extended to me, but I needed a break from affairs of state. Quatre's offer came about the same time, and it was a much more appealing one."

Duo grinned. "Speaking of Quatre, did he happen to tell you about who's supposed to be accompanying Heero to the party?"

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "Of course, he did; every guest invited was briefed in order to avoid potential problems. That's why this gathering tonight is one of friends and family; this is a circle of trust, after all."

"So what do you think?" asked Hilde, "I'm still having trouble believe it, and I know I'm not the only one."

"You got that right!" said Duo, "I mean, seriously; who would've thought we'd see the day that Heero was escorting literal alien guests to a party like this?"

"The only reason he can do so is because they supposed look about as human as the rest of us according to Sally," said Trowa, "Although even then it strikes me as rather risky."

Dorothy nodded. "Yes, although it would seem that Sally and Lady Une thought otherwise."

Hilde's eyes narrowed as she studied Dorothy. "Did you really not know about them until Quatre gave you the invite? You are in the government, after all. Wouldn't you have been read in on something as momentous as genuine alien contact?"

Dorothy shook her head. "I'm merely a representative in Parliament, and I'm not on any of the committees that would be relevant to this matter. Actually, from what I learned from Quatre and Sally, it would seem that Parliament in its entirety is in the dark regarding our guests from beyond the stars. I suppose it all makes sense; best to keep matters such as this close to the chest, and Lady Une's certainly disciplined enough to be trusted with managing such an affair purely within the confines of Preventers."

"So it doesn't bother you at all that you and the legislature were left completely in the dark about first contact?" asked Trowa skeptically.

Dorothy shrugged. "Not particularly. As long as the peace is kept, in the end that is all that matters. Besides, they've all been put under the observational custody of Heero, so with that in mind I see no reason for concern. They're being monitored by the best soldier the Earth Sphere has ever seen, so I'm satisfied with the current arrangement."

Duo looked around eagerly but still could spot no sign that Heero or his companions had arrived. "Well, maybe you can play it cool, but I for one am dying to meet them. I mean, seriously; how often does a chance like this come around?"

Hilde smiled. "You've got a point. I have to admit, I'm pretty psyched for this too."

Dow saw Trowa raise an eyebrow as he looked beyond their little gathering. "Then you might want to turn around."

Duo did so, and his jaw dropped when he saw Heero enter the room…

…surrounded by no less than _six_ beautifulwomen.

 _You have_ got _to be kidding me…_

A sharp elbow from Hilde was enough for Duo to regain some semblance of composure, but he had yet to fully recover his wits. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd told Heero to find a woman, and now here he was with an entire pack of them. What made the situation patently absurd was the fact that all of them were supposedly from beyond the Earth Sphere.

"Holy _shit…_ " he murmured.

Hilde rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless, you know that?"

Dorothy shook her head. " _Boys…_ "

"Well," said Trowa, looking rather amused at the whole situation, "shall we go say hello?"

Duo couldn't help but grin as he took Hilde's hand. "Yes, we should, Trowa. Yes, we _should_."

….

To Heero's right, Ryoko whistled. "Wow. And here I thought that the place _we_ were staying was nice!"

"Most impressive!" said Ayeka as she looked around the room.

"Is this the party?" asked Sasami, "I thought it was supposed to be outside."

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki from Sasami's arms.

"Where's the garden you mentioned earlier, Heero?" asked Mihoshi.

"Don't you remember, Mihoshi?" said Kiyone, "It's out on the roof."

"I bet it's quite the view from out there," said Washu.

Heero nodded as he scanned the room. "I'm sure it is. We'll see it for ourselves soon enough."

He could feel every eye in the room on him and his companions as they walked in. While Quatre had assured him that it would only be friends and family attending the party, it still made him a little uneasy being the center of attention like this. He could only hope that that would fade as the party got underway.

He spotted Quatre approaching him, and his fellow Gundam pilot wasn't alone. There was a woman with brown-blonde hair and blue eyes with him wearing a green evening gown.

"Heero!" said Quatre with a smile, "Glad you could make it!"

Heero nodded. "Thanks for the pickup earlier. Are we late?"

The woman next to Quatre shook her head. "Not at all, Heero."

The face was familiar, but for some reason Heero was having trouble attaching a name to it. "Forgive me. We may have met before, but I…"

The woman smiled. "It's quite all right, Heero. It's pretty common for people to mix me up with one of my siblings. My name is Iria Winner. I'm the oldest of Quatre's sisters."

Heero nodded. "Right. You're a doctor, correct?"

"Indeed," she replied, "I'm glad that you were able to remember at least that much. Please, withhold my title, though; you can just call my Iria."

"Are the rest of your sisters here, Miss Iria?" asked Ayeka as she looked around, "They were so good to Sasami and I earlier today, and I wish to thank them for the time they spent with us."

"They were really nice!" cheered Sasami, "I like them!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Iria smiled. "Don't worry; the whole family's here. Just wander around, and I'm sure you'll find them soon enough."

"I still can't believe that there are so many of you," said Kiyone as she looked around, "Twenty-nine sisters… I'm amazed that you can keep track of them all, Quatre."

Quatre laughed. "You'd be amazed at the things you can remember when you put your mind to it."

"I'm so jealous!" cried Mihoshi, "I want twenty-nine sisters! That'd be so much fun!"

Washu shook her head. "I feel sorry for the parents. Just one child's a handful."

Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Like you would know, _mother_. You were gone for _how many_ centuries while I basically raised myself with Ryo-Ohki, again?"

Washu waved a finger at the pirate. "Watch your mouth, young lady. You don't want me to turn you into a frog again, do you?"

Ryoko's face paled even as she shot a glare at Washu. "You wouldn't… not in the middle of a party like this…"

"Only one way to find out," said Washu with a grin.

"Please, don't," said Heero, "I'm sure we'll make enough of a scene as it is tonight without you turning people into frogs, Washu."

Washu shrugged. "Oh, fine. I'll just have to find other ways to amuse myself."

"How reassuring," Ryoko quipped dryly.

"Yo, Heero!" called a familiar male voice, "Long time no see, old buddy!"

 _Oh, great_ , thought Heero, silently groaning, _I was hoping to put this off for a little while longer…_

Sure enough, none other than Duo Maxwell was approaching. He wasn't alone, either. His wife Hilde had her arm looped through his, and Trowa Barton and Dorothy Catalonia were right there with them.

Heero gave him a nod. "Duo."

Of course, that wasn't enough for Duo. He put his hand to his heart, an expression of faux-hurt on his face, but Heero could tell that the L2 native was struggling to hold back a grin.

"That's it?" he said, "Just 'Duo'? Man, even for you, that's cold! Come on, Heero! You're trying to hurt your old buddy, are you?"

Heero rolled his eyes before allowing himself a small smirk. "It's been a long time. How've you been, Duo?"

Duo smiled. "Now that's more like it! Gotta say, I never thought married life would agree with me, but Hilde keeps things entertaining."

Hilde chuckled. "Well, not as entertaining as you do. It's been too long, Heero."

"Likewise," said Heero before turning to the other Gundam pilot in the room, "Good to see you too, Trowa. Is Catherine still mad at me?"

Trowa shook his head, a small smile on his face. "I think she's finally over it. Just to be safe, though, don't mention the war and the time you spent in our trailer at the circus."

Heero nodded. "Easy enough."

"Well, don't keep us waiting," said Duo, smirking as he eyed Heero's companions, "Heero, aren't you going to introduce us to the ladies of the hour?"

Heero rolled his eyes before doing just that. "Everyone, this is Duo Maxwell, one of the other Gundam pilots I mentioned earlier. The woman with him is Hilde Maxwell, his wife. The other man is Trowa Barton, another Gundam pilot, and the blonde woman is Dorothy Catalonia. She's a representative in the ESUN Parliament. There's no need to hold back with them; they're all well aware of the fact that you're not exactly from around here."

Ayeka gave them a courteous bow. "A pleasure to meet you all. I am Ayeka Masaki Jurai, crown princess of the Empire of Jurai."

"And I'm Sasami!" chirped her younger sister, "I'm a princess too, but you don't have to use a title or anything for me. Oh, and this little girl is Ryo-Ohki!"

"Meow!" cried the cute furball in her arms.

Kiyone nodded and smiled. "I'm Detective First Class Kiyone Makibi of the Galaxy Police. It's nice to meet you."

"And I'm her partner!" chirped Mihoshi, "Detective First Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu!"

Washu stepped forward with a grin on her face. "I'm the premier scientific genius of the galaxy, Doctor Washu Hakubi! I'll just let you call me Washu since you're all friends of Heero, though."

"How generous," Ryoko quipped.

Washu gave Ryoko a sly smirk. "And _this_ smartass is my daughter, Ryoko. I'm ashamed to say that she didn't inherent my singular intellect."

Ryoko scowled. "Hey, are you calling me dumb? You are _so_ asking for it! I don't care if you're my mother, I'll…"

"That's enough," said Heero, trying to keep his exasperation beneath the surface, "What did I tell the two of you? Knock it off."

Ryoko groaned. "Fine."

Washu chuckled. "You owe him one, dear."

Ryoko folded her arms, shooting one more glare at Washu before turning to the others. "Whatever. So, you're all Heero's pals? Tell me something; what's it take to get him completely shitface drunk? Seriously, I think he needs it."

Duo grinned. "Oh, I _like_ you!"

"Duo!" hissed Hilde as she elbowed him in the ribs.

The L2 native grimaced. "Ow! I didn't mean like _that_!"

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Sure, you didn't."

"Hey, I told you!" Duo protested, "Married man here, remember?"

Dorothy smirked. "It's hard to remember that with the way you act sometimes."

"I'm still amazed he got married in the first place," Trowa quipped.

 _That makes two of us_ , mused Heero.

Quatre smiled. "If anyone wants a drink, we've got plenty on offer. That being said, do try to keep from going overboard. It wouldn't be much of a party if you all passed out!"

Ryoko grinned as she grabbed Heero's arm. "Please, only the lightweights will go down here. Come on, Heero! You and me are going shot for shot!"

"Absolutely not!" Ayeka protested as she took Heero's other arm, "I will not let you drag Heero into your oafishness and drunken debauchery!"

"A little bit of wine _does_ sound nice," said Kiyone.

"Oh, can I try some?" asked Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Mihoshi shook her head. "Sorry, Sasami, but I don't think you're ready for it. Same goes for you, Ryo-Ohki."

"It's strange days when _you're_ the voice of reason, Mihoshi," Heero heard Washu mutter.

"Well, now," said a new yet familiar voice, "Aren't you all a lively bunch? And here the party hasn't even officially started yet!"

Heero and the others turned to see Sally approaching. She wore a green dress with a scarlet flower-pattern on it; the perfect gown for a winter holiday party. There was an amused smile on her face as she took in the sight of Heero surrounded by his unruly companions, and he was very thankful that she wasn't taking pictures on her smart phone right now.

"Lady Sally!" cried Ayeka, "It's so good to see you again! Then again, I suppose we did just see you yesterday, but still…"

"You look so pretty!" cheered Sasami.

"Aw, thank you, Sasami!" she replied, "You really are a sweetheart, you know that? I bet your mom and dad are so proud of you."

Sasami looked down, an embarrassed smile on her face. "Oh, you're too nice!"

Sally then looked the rest of Heero's companions. "Looks like Quatre's sisters did a great job with all of you. You blend in pretty well, all things considered."

Heero nodded. "As long as we can keep hostilities to a minimum, I think we should be okay."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "Hostilities? What are you talking about, buddy?"

"Trust me," said Kiyone as she looked at Ayeka and Ryoko, "You don't want to know."

Quatre cleared his throat. "I think that actually accounts for all of the guests. Shall we head outside and kick things off?"

"Oh, yay!" chirped Mihoshi, "I want to see the garden!"

"Some food would be nice as well," said Washu as she looked around, "I hope you've got more than just appetizer trays."

"No kidding," said Ryoko, "I'm starving!"

Quatre smiled. "Trust me; I think you'll find what we've got set up outside to be just to your liking."

He led them outside, and Heero heard several of his companions whistle at the sight. He couldn't blame them; the garden looked spectacular. A large Christmas tree was set up right in the middle of it, while all the bushes glittered with holiday lights. Tables were spread out, enough for all the guests, and there was more food than Heero had seen in one place in a long time. A bar was positioned off to one side, while a small stage had been set up for an orchestra and choir, who started up on what Heero was sure would be the first of many holiday songs to come.

"Welcome to our little wonderland amongst the stars," said Quatre with a grin, "Eat, drink, and enjoy yourselves!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" cheered Ryoko.

"Oh, it looks wonderful!" cried Ayeka.

"So much food!" cried Sasami.

"Meow!" cheered Ryo-Ohki.

Kiyone smiled. "Well, it looks like we won't be going hungry anytime soon."

"It all looks so good!" gasped Mihoshi as she looked around, "I don't know where to start!"

"For once, I'm with you," said Washu as she surveyed the platters, licking her lips, "Decisions, decisions…"

Heero was relieved. If his companions were distracted by all the food, then it meant that he wouldn't have to worry about them fighting for at least a little while. He would take all the small favors he could get.

 _Well_ , he thought, _we've come this far. Might as well indulge._

 _Let the party begin._

….

Ryoko was in paradise. There was food and drink as far as she could see, and it was all _good_. She was already on her second plate and second glass of wine, and she was just warming up.

 _This is the best_ , she thought with a smile, _I can't believe Heero's got friends who throw parties like this. He needs to get us invited to shindigs like this more often!_

The group had dispersed a little while ago. Ayeka and Sasami were holding court with Quatre and several of his sisters, and from what few boring snippets Ryoko could overhear it sounded like they were telling them all about their precious Empire. Kiyone and Mihoshi were with Duo and Hilde, enjoying themselves and entertaining their dining companions with tales of their adventures in the Galaxy Police. Washu had been joined by Dorothy, Trowa, Catherine and Rasheed, and from the way the legendary mad scientist was grinning Ryoko could only imagine what crazy inventions she was telling her new friends about. Heero had been sharing Ryoko's table, but he had gotten up a little while ago, claiming that he needed a little air, although seeing as they were all partying in an outdoor garden it was hard for her to see how he could get any more air than he already was.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki, poking at Ryoko's plate.

Ryoko smiled and passed her living starship another carrot. "Here you go! It's a party, so make sure you enjoy yourself!"

The cat-rabbit's eyes glittered with delight as she scarfed down her treat. Ryoko could only laugh at the sight; her furry companion was so easy to please.

"Glad to see the two of you are enjoying yourselves," said a familiar female voice from behind her, "Mind if I join you?"

Ryoko looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Hey, Sally. Pull up a chair! You gotta try this wine!"

"I already have," Sally replied with a smile as she sat down, "I'll hold off on another glass until later. Pacing is the key to truly pleasurable drinking, or at least that's what I believe."

"Suit yourself," Ryoko replied as she took a sip from her glass, "More for me, then!"

Sally smirked. "Indeed."

Ryoko indulged herself for a few minutes before Sally spoke again. "You're a well-travelled woman, right? Have you seen any festivals or celebrations similar to the one we're throwing tonight?"

Ryoko leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment. "A few, I guess. I've never been formally invited to them myself, but I'm pretty good at party crashing."

Sally chuckled. "Yes, I can definitely picture that. So, what did they celebrate at those festive gatherings that you so merrily plundered?"

Ryoko shrugged. "All sorts of things. The changing of seasons, thanks towards friends and family, peace and goodwill; you know, all that typical stuff that law-abiding people like to celebrate."

Sally nodded. "I see. Thankfulness to friends and family do play a role in these particular festivities, as do goodwill, but as of a few years ago the idea of peace became much more prominent."

"You don't say?" Ryoko replied casually between bites.

Sally's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, do you know where Heero went? He was with you just a little while ago, correct?"

"Something about needing a little bit of breathing room," said Ryoko, "I'm sure he'll be back soon. I know he's not exactly a party animal, but he won't leave me hanging."

Sally sighed. "I imagine so, but… did you ever bother to think about _why_ he might not be the most festive of individuals… and why he might desire some space at _this_ particular celebration?"

Ryoko leaned forward, a creeping concern slipping into her wine-boosted good spirits. "What are you getting at?"

"Did Heero ever tell you what the conflict we fought in wound up being called?" asked Sally.

"If he did, I can't recall it," said Ryoko, "Why? What's the name got to do with anything?"

"It's called the Eve Wars," Sally answered pointed, "It was named that because the conflict came to an end three years ago this very night; Christmas Eve. The following year there was a rebellion on the exact same day, and that conflict was brought to an end that very night as well."

Ryoko's eyes widened. "Wait, are you serious?"

Sally nodded. "Completely. So, for those of us who fought in both of those conflicts and survived that horrendous bloodshed, the winter holidays are more than just a time for celebration. They're an occasion for remembrance, and some of us are more deeply affected about it than others."

Ryoko's gaze wandered until she found Heero, standing at the edge of the garden and looking out at the city beyond. She felt like a blind idiot for not catching on sooner; of _course,_ there had been more to Heero's desire for space than the fact that he wasn't a party animal.

"So," said Sally, "are you starting to get it, now? This is more than just a party for the likes of us; it's also a memorial. We celebrate _life_ here, and pause to reflect on those who did not make it through our battles and are unable to join us tonight."

Ryoko slowly nodded, her eyes still on Heero. "Yeah…"

Sally stood up and smiled. "That being said, some of us need to learn to appreciate the celebration aspect of get-togethers like this, and that definitely applies to Heero. I don't think I'm really cut out to show him how to really appreciate a party, but I think _you_ are. What do you say, Ryoko? Care to prove me right?"

Ryoko nodded and stood up as well. "You got it."

 _It's the least I can do_ , she thought as she made her way towards Heero, _I mean, after all he's done for me, it'd be a real shame if I couldn't show him how to enjoy himself. I don't know all of what he went through in the past, and I'm sure it was rough, but he needs to learn to not let it weigh on him like this._

 _So it's up to me to show him how to_ really _celebrate life!_

….

It was one hell of a view.

Granted, Heero had seen it plenty of times before. Not from this exact spot in this exact colony, but given the wheel-structure that was common to the orbital habitats in the Earth Sphere, the internal vistas each one offered tended to be similar. Still, there was no denying that it was something special, all the more so during the winter holiday months. Not only were the normal city lights illuminating the inside of the colony, but these were joined by a dazzling array of Christmas lights. Every color imaginable twinkled wherever he looked, and it was almost as if a second sea of stars had been born.

 _I think this is the first time I've ever really taken the chance to admire a colony decked out for the winter holidays_ , he mused, _I never realized just how spectacular such a sight could be…_

Then again, he'd never had the chance to do so. He had become accustomed at far too early an age to the sight of colonies with burned and blackened husks of buildings that had been mercilessly shelled by occupational forces. When he had stood upon rooftops like this in the past, the lights that had shown before had often been the fleeting bursts of exploding rockets, or the yellow streaks of particle beams. Rather than the sound of holiday carolers wafting up from below, Heero had gotten used to the roar of heavy-weapons fire. Space colonies might've been meant for habitation, but far too many of them had become bloody battlefields in Heero's time.

If he closed his eyes, it was all too easy to imagine _this_ colony becoming one.

Heero shook his head. Here he was, at a party where he was supposed to be enjoying himself with his companions, and instead of that he was looking out and remembering conflicts that had been settled years ago. Peace now reigned throughout the Earth Sphere, yet that had only been achieved relatively recently, and far more of Heero's life had been spent at war than not.

"The past doesn't die easily," he murmured, "no matter how much one might wish otherwise."

"So," said a familiar voice from behind him, "how can I help you put it to bed?"

Heero was startled as he turned around to find Ryoko approaching him. He knew that her powers allowed for a measure of stealth if she put her mind to it, but he was still used to picking up at least some sign that she was trying to get the drop on him.

She smiled as she came forward and leaned against the concrete wall next to him. "You really can be too serious for your own good sometimes, you know that, Heero?"

He nodded. "I won't deny it. I have my reasons, though."

"Oh, I know," Ryoko replied, "You're charged with keeping peace in the world, and it sounds like you went through hell just to bring it this far, at least to hear Sally tell it."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "What did she say?"

"Not much," Ryoko admitted, "but enough for me to understand that this night means more to you than just a simple winter holiday."

"Not just me," he said, "Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Sally, and all of the others in attendance; we all played our part in that war, and we all bear its mark in our own way."

"And yet they're all enjoying the party," Ryoko pointed out, "while you're over here. Whatever happened in your war, they're still able to take a night like this and celebrate despite all the bad things that happened to get to this point. That's what you need to do, otherwise you'll never be free from the past."

Heero sighed. "Believe me, it's a past that I _want_ to be free from. Finding a way to accomplish that, though… well, you were there at the end of our dream worlds. You heard what Washu said about me; I'm my own worst critic. It's not an easy habit to break."

He sudden felt her hand on his, and when he met her gaze he saw the holiday lights glimmering in her eyes. There was something else there, too; that spark of mischievous vitality that he had come to associate with her.

"Then let me help you break it," she said with a smile, "In fact, why don't we start tonight?"

All Heero could do was nod. "I'm listening."

She gently caressed his cheek. "Let it all go. Just for tonight. Your duty, your guilt, your battles; put it all aside for one night. Don't be Heero Yuy, Preventers agent, tonight. Just be _you_. No more, no less."

Heero couldn't help but smile. "That sounds… nice. I'd like that."

"Then _do_ it," said Ryoko, squeezing his hand, "So, tell me this; what have you always _wanted_ to do at a party like this? You're not an agent right now, so you don't have to worry about protecting people or making sure that we don't blow our cover. You're just a guy at a party, and I'm just a girl that wants you to have some fun. So, how does Heero Yuy the _man_ , not the soldier, have fun?"

He looked around, and eventually his gaze settled on the orchestra and choir. They had just wrapped up one song, and it would only be a few seconds before they began another. There was a broad space cleared out in front of them for dancing, and several couples were already out there eagerly awaiting the next tune. Heero then turned back to Ryoko; he knew _exactly_ what he wanted.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked.

Ryoko grinned and looped her arm through his. "Lead the way."

He did just that, and a few moments later they were on the dancefloor. With one hand on her hip and the other on her back, he slowly began to guide her as the orchestra began its next song.

Ryoko smiled, her eyes never leaving his. "Dancing like this was never something I really got into before coming here, but you… you make it special."

"Glad to hear it," Heero replied, "I'd hate to do something that only bored you."

Ryoko giggled. "Trust me, Heero; the last thing you could ever be is boring."

She moved closer, pressing herself against him and resting her head on his shoulder. "You're one hell of a guy, Heero. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise… even yourself."

"I'll try to remember that," said Heero.

Holding her close, gently swaying to the music, it felt like the rest of the world didn't matter. The colony, the party, and all the people around them just seemed to fade away. Even the music became little more than a bit of pleasant background noise. There was only the woman in his arms. The fragrant scent of her perfume, her lithe yet curvy figure, the soft whisper of her breath on his ear, the gentle brush of her hair against his face; his entire world at this very moment was Ryoko and Ryoko alone.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

….

Although she was still holding court with Quatre and several of his sisters, Ayeka had not failed to notice Heero and Ryoko out on the dancefloor. While she did her best to keep it from showing in her demeanor, the fires of jealously were burning within. It was Heero's prerogative to dance with whomever he wished, but why…

…why did his first dance of the evening have to go to _Ryoko_ , of all people?

A simple dance would be bad enough, but Ayeka could tell that there was more to it. There was little of Ryoko's usual teasing and flirtations evident here. She saw no sign of her typical crude attempts at seduction, no mischief of any sort. She was acting as Ayeka might picture herself acting in such a position; holding her partner close, caring for him and him alone. To make matters worse, it was all too clear that not only was Heero quite the willing participant here, but that he was actually _enjoying_ it. He may not have been the most expressive of individuals, but Ayeka could tell just from his body language how relaxed and comfortable he was with Ryoko. He was at peace, even _happy_ , and under any other circumstances Ayeka would be pleased to see him in such a state.

But why…?

Why was it _Ryoko_ , a notorious criminal wanted on a long list of charges throughout the civilized galaxy, that was able to bring about such serenity and contentedness in him?

The music faded, and Ayeka watched anxiously to see if Heero and Ryoko would part. They gave no indication of doing so, though; in fact, they seemed to be waiting for the next song to start.

"Excuse me, Ayeka?" said a familiar male voice, "Are you all right?"

She turned to see Quatre looking at her, concern clear in his eyes. Ayeka could've kicked herself for not guarding her emotions better; the crown princess of Jurai was not supposed to be so easily read.

"Oh, yes!" she said, forcing a smile, "How could I not be when I'm in the midst of such a delightful party?"

Quatre smiled as well, but there was a knowing look in his eyes that told Ayeka he didn't buy it for a minute. Ayeka was quickly coming to realize that Heero's friends were as perceptive as he was, and she mentally berated herself for not taking note of that earlier. If they had survived the same war that Heero had, then of course their senses would be sharp.

He stood up and offered her his hand. "Forgive me if this is a bit presumptuous of me given that we've only recently met, but… would you care to dance with me, Ayeka?"

Her eyes widened. "Lord Quatre…"

The kind blond man gave a friendly laugh. "Ayeka, please; just Quatre, remember? Any friend of Heero's can forget about formalities when they're with me."

Despite her earlier inner turmoil, Ayeka could not help but give the young man a genuine smile as she accepted his hand. "In that case, I'd be honored to… Quatre."

Allowing him to pull her to her feet, she followed him out onto the dancefloor. She quickly realized that he was leading her to the opposite end of where Heero and Ryoko were, and from the way his eyes furtively evaluated their surroundings she was sure that it was intentional.

 _He's trying to keep them out of my vision to lessen my discomfort_ , she thought, touched by the gesture, _Lord Quatre… you truly are a gentleman._

They came to a stop a moment later, and he put one hand on her hip and the other just behind her shoulder. The smile he gave her looked almost sheepish as he glanced between her and the orchestra.

"Forgive me if I accidently step on your toes," he said, "I may be a little out of practice."

"It's quite all right," Ayeka replied.

The next song began a few moments later, and she let Quatre take the lead. It quickly became apparent that he had not been entirely truthful with her; if he was out of practice, he gave no sign of it. He led her with a practiced ease, and Ayeka suspected that his words had been meant more to offer reassurance to her in the event that she wasn't confident in her own dancing skills.

 _It has been quite some time since I've attended a ball or similar formal event_ , she silently admitted, _I suppose if any of us is out of practice here, it's me…_

"You dance very well," she said after a moment.

Quatre gave her a warm smile. "You're too kind, Ayeka. You're no slouch yourself, you know."

"Oh, nonsense," Ayeka protested, a slight blush coming to her face, "I'm so rusty it's hardly worth joking about!"

Quatre laughed. "I don't think so! You're doing just fine."

She sighed as she felt some of her earlier tension ease out of her. Her dancing partner might not be the one she had been dreaming of ever since coming to this world, but he was quite a catch all the same. Kind and considerate, well-mannered and versed in etiquette, a capable host of a wonderful party…

…and he was rather easy on the eyes.

She had to refrain from shaking her head. What had gotten into her? Her heart was not so fickle that her affections could shift from Heero to another man so quickly. She chalked it up to her still being upset over who her guardian had chosen as a dancing partner for the evening.

"Did you do much dancing back on your homeworld?" asked Quatre.

"At formal occasions, yes," Ayeka replied, "The style was a little different from here, but the principle remains the same."

"I bet you were in high demand as a partner," said Quatre with a smile.

Ayeka could not help but blush slightly. "Well, I suppose I was, given my position in the Imperial court, but I only accepted such dances as a courtesy."

Quatre nodded. "I understand. It's the same for me, really. Whenever my company hosts a formal event, I'm expected to accept invitations from women who desire a dance from me even if I personally would rather decline them. It's important to accommodate them for the long-term good of the company and my family."

Ayeka smiled. "Your sense of duty is admirable. You may not be titled nobility, but if you were in the Empire of Jurai I believe that you would be the model image of a member of our aristocracy."

Quatre gave a warm laugh. "You're giving me far too much credit, Ayeka!"

Ayeka shook her head. "I don't think so. In fact, for a man of your position, I would contend that you are far too modest."

Quatre smiled. "My sisters tell me that sometimes, too. I suppose it's just how I am."

The two of them spent a few moments dancing in silence before Ayeka spoke again. "Quatre… if I may be so bold… there's something personal I'd like to ask you."

"Go ahead," he replied, "I'll answer to the best of my ability."

Ayeka took a deep breath. "Given your family's position and influence in this world, along with your personal wealth… why did you take it upon yourself to engage in rebellion alongside Sir Heero and your fellow Gundam pilots? I know that Sir Heero does not hail from a background of wealth and privilege, but you do. If the government that once ruled this world was unjust, could you not have found some way to pursue internal reform? Was… was rebellion really the only course of action left?"

Quatre studied her carefully. "It really bothers you, doesn't it? The fact that Heero and I were once enemies of the state, I mean."

"Please don't take it the wrong way!" Ayeka replied hastily, "I give you my word that I mean no offense! I do not judge either of you for your past actions! I… I just…"

"Hey," said Quatre softly, "It's all right, Ayeka. Really. Look at me; do I seem upset to you?"

Ayeka sighed with relief; he appeared quite calm, even friendly. "No, you do not. Forgive me for getting so worked up. It's just… well, this is an issue that I've had difficulty reconciling. Not with Sir Heero, mind you; I know for a fact that he is a just and honorable man, and I hold him in the highest esteem. It's more… with myself, I suppose."

Quatre nodded. "I think I can see where you're coming from. Since you were born into the Empire's Royal Family, you're at the heart of your people's government. I imagine that you were taught to look down on rebels like us. Does that sound about right?"

Ayeka's eyes widened; he'd hit the nail on the head. "How did you…?

Quatre smiled. "I can be pretty sharp when I want to, Ayeka. Besides, even though we may be from entirely different cultures, I imagine that certain mindsets and behaviors for upper-class individuals carry across time and space easily enough."

"I suppose so," said Ayeka, "In that case, it would seem that you have a very good understanding as to where my original thoughts on such matters originate from. My father, my tutors… none of them thought very highly of those who fought against lawful authority. They impressed upon me the notion that such people were without honor and nobility, and that they deserved to be crushed swiftly and mercilessly. Order must be maintained, and that means upholding the law by whatever means necessary. I was always told that those who would disrupt such order and harmony are greedy, malicious, and vile… and yet, since coming here, I've had to reconsider. Sir Heero, yourself, and your friends… none of you are remotely like that. You've all been so kind and courteous to us, and I have seen firsthand how seriously Sir Heero takes his duty as a member of your world's peacekeeping forces even though he once fought against the ruling government. You, Sir Heero, the others… there is no doubt in my mind that you are all good people, so why… why did you have to take up arms against the lawful government?"

Quatre sighed. "I can't speak directly for the others. After all, each of us came from a different colony cluster. We all experienced the injustices and cruelty of the United Earth Sphere Alliance in our own way. All I can tell you is what I saw for myself, I'm afraid."

"I would like to hear it, just the same," said Ayeka nervously, "If you do not mind, that is."

After a moment, Quatre nodded. "All right, then. Not here, though; it's not really conversation that's fit for the dancefloor. Come with me."

Ayeka let him lead her off to the side, and she soon found herself standing near the edge of the building. Quatre leaned forward against the concrete barrier, looking out at the city below, and he seemed to be trying to center himself.

 _Perhaps I've made a mistake_ , she thought, _I may be asking him to tread upon ground that is best left undisturbed…_

"Quatre," she said cautiously, "if… if this is an imposition, I would not object to putting this off for another time."

He turned to her and smiled. "It's all right, Ayeka. I was just trying to figure out where to start. To tell you the truth, I haven't really talked to anyone about it all in quite a while. Not even my sisters, come to think of it."

"Take your time," she said, "I would never presume to rush you over such a delicate matter."

Quatre nodded. "Thanks. Mind if I ask you something first?"

"Not at all," Ayeka replied, "Ask away."

"In the Empire, you have orbital habitats like ours, right?" he asked.

Ayeka nodded. "Yes. The designs and technology are much more advanced, but we do indeed have large-scale space stations that serve a wide variety of functions, and those include colonies."

"I see," said Quatre, "Do people give birth on those space stations?"

Ayeka was a bit taken aback by the question, but she answered it just the same. "Well, of course. Why wouldn't they?"

"So it's safe for them to do so, then?" Quatre pressed.

Ayeka's eyes narrowed; this wasn't just some random line of questioning. "Yes. It has been for thousands of years. Why is this so important to you?"

"In the early days of space colonization, live and natural birth in the colonies was extremely hazardous," Quatre replied, "Families instead used the test-tube system to have children in order to avoid complications. Eventually both medicinal technology and the designs of the colonies advanced to the point that the test-tube system was unnecessary for most colonists, but those families that had been in space since the beginning of the colony rush were still at great risk."

The pieces began to fall into place in Ayeka's mind. "Your large family… you were all born through the test-tube method, weren't you?"

Quatre sighed. "Close. All of my sisters were. For the longest time, I thought was as well. It was only recently by digging through the family archives that I learned otherwise. I was born naturally, Ayeka… and my mother died because of it."

Ayeka gasped. "By Tsunami… Quatre, I am _so_ sorry!"

Quatre smiled. "It's all right. I've had plenty of time to accept it."

"You did not bring up something so painful for nothing," said Ayeka, "What does the manner in which children are born in your colonies have to do with why you joined Sir Heero and the others in open rebellion against your world's government?"

"More than you might think," Quatre replied, "Do you remember Rasheed?"

Ayeka nodded. "Your head of security, yes? He seems like a good man. What does he have to do with all of this?"

Quatre gave a soft laugh. "Would you believe me if I told you that when we first met he was taking me as a hostage?"

Ayeka's eyes widened. "You cannot be serious!"

"I actually am," said Quatre, "I was on my way to Earth when it happened. Back then, I was a different person. Well, an _indifferent_ person, really."

Ayeka was puzzled by his choice in words. "What do you mean?"

Quatre sighed. "I believed that, because my father had so many children through the test-tube system, we were all simply little more than a means to appeal to his vanity. I didn't think that he really valued any of us as human beings; we were simply a legacy, something for him to show off to others. As a result, I didn't really place a high value on myself as an individual. I thought I was just some pawn for my father, nothing more. So I went through life without really caring about either myself or the world around me. That hardly seems like the kind of person who would become a revolutionary fighter, right?"

Ayeka nodded. "I suppose not. So what happened? The person you describe hardly seems like the man I'm conversing with right now."

Quatre smiled. "Rasheed's kidnapping of me helped change who I was, and it was definitely for the better. I'm sure it sounds strange to hear that; I imagine that a royal like yourself must live in fear of being taken hostage."

"I am not without the means to defend myself," said Ayeka, "However… the prospect was never far from my mind when I was in the Empire. Either myself or my sister would make an invaluable bargaining chip. I imagine Rasheed thought the same of you during the incident you're describing, otherwise he would've chosen another hostage."

Quatre nodded. "You're correct. However, he wasn't kidnapping me for selfish reasons. There really was a noble purpose behind it all."

Ayeka raised an eyebrow. "A kidnapping with a noble cause? Perhaps it's due to my upbringing, but the notion's a little difficult for me to grasp."

"I can see that," said Quatre, "Perhaps some context will help clear things up."

Ayeka smiled. "In that case, by all means, please enlighten me."

"All right," Quatre replied, "Rasheed wasn't acting alone; he was the head of a group called the Maganac Corps, a forty-man private army that was in opposition to the United Earth Sphere Alliance that used to rule this world. When they kidnapped me, they diverted my shuttle to an orbital resource satellite called MO-III. Although the satellite was technically owned by the Alliance and the workforce was supplied by them, much of the actual administration was in the hands of my family."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. Did they take you to that satellite because of the connection it had to your family?"

"Yes," said Quatre solemnly, "You see, the workers supplied by the Alliance… well, most of them weren't there willingly. They were political prisoners who had been conscripted into forced labor. Conditions were horrible, they were isolated, had no compensation, and to top it all off most of them hadn't seen their families in months or years. They were desperate for a way out of such a ghastly situation, so I don't blame them in the least for the actions that they took."

"That's a very forgiving attitude for you to have towards such an incident," said Ayeka, "In the Empire… well, I can think of plenty of nobles who would not feel so charitable under such circumstances."

Quatre nodded. "The Alliance certainly wouldn't have been, which is why Rasheed reached out to my father rather than the satellite's official owners. In exchange for my safety, my father agreed to allow the Maganac Corps use of Winner Family resources to take the laborers to Earth so they could see their families. He also consented to using his influence to stall the Alliance's response for as long as possible."

Ayeka smiled. "I'm glad your father was so accommodating. It would've been most unfortunate had things been otherwise; we may not have had the chance to meet had events gone sour."

"That's true," Quatre admitted, "Things _did_ go sour, though. It wasn't my father's fault, though; there was a spy in the Maganac Corps that sold them out to the Alliance."

Ayeka gasped. "How awful! What happened next?"

Quatre chuckled. "A funny thing, actually; I wound up sticking my neck out to help Rasheed and his comrades escape."

Ayeka's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"During the initial negotiations, my father asked to speak with me," Quatre replied, "I didn't exactly play the role of the grateful son. Long story short, I ran my mouth off like an idiot. I spouted some lame line about my father's tool acting on his own, about how he only created us because he wanted offspring that would do exactly what he wanted and nothing more. That was when Rasheed knocked some sense into me… quite literally, in fact; even holding back, he throws a mean right hook."

Ayeka was mortified. "He _struck_ you? But… but he's your protector!"

"Not back then, remember?" Quatre countered, "Besides, I had it coming. Rasheed helped me get some perspective; it turned out that he was born in a test-tube, but he still had a sense of self-worth and pride. I needed a wakeup call, and he helped give it to me."

Ayeka smiled. "Well, if you believe it was for the best, then I suppose it's not my place to argue the point. So what happened after that? You said that the group was sold out by a spy, right?"

Quatre nodded. "That's correct. I was able to help Rasheed deal with him, but it was too late; the Alliance had dispatched a force to take us out. The odds weren't good; they must've had over a hundred mobile suits, while the Maganac Corps only had 38."

"I'm afraid I'm not all that familiar with your world's mobile suits," said Ayeka, "but even so, those numbers sound quite daunting."

Quatre smiled. "You're not wrong there. I even went out myself; Rasheed had been wounded in the confrontation with the spy, so I took his machine. That was the first time I'd ever flown in a battle."

Ayeka gasped. "Oh, my… I can't imagine what that must've been like for you!"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared," Quatre admitted, "Still, I think I handled myself all right. We were able to fend off the Alliance mobile suits long enough for the shuttles with the laborers on board to escape. I must've done something right, because apparently after the battle Rasheed and the rest of the Maganac Corps decided that they owed me their lives. I didn't realize it at the time, but I had just gained the allegiance of a private army!"

"That's quite a feat," said Ayeka, "For you to be worthy of such respect from them speaks highly of your quality as a person."

"I'd like to think so," Quatre replied, "Anyway, from that day forward, I decided that I couldn't just keep going through life without caring about the world around me. I had to find a way to make a difference, and after that battle with the Alliance, I knew that meant I would have to fight. The way they were treating those laborers, and how they were willing to dispatch armed forces to wipe them out rather than let them return to Earth and their families… that was an evil that I knew could not be dealt with peacefully. I didn't _like_ fighting, but against such injustice I knew that non-violent means of reform were doomed to failure."

Ayeka nodded. "I see. I… I suppose it all makes sense, it's just… well, I suppose I lack the same sort of experience that you and Sir Heero have when it comes to governments that abuse their power."

"Or maybe you've been purposely shielded from such experiences," said Quatre, with a dark look in his eyes.

Ayeka bristled at the implication. "I will have you know that the Empire of Jurai does not engage in any of the practices that you described! We would certainly never send troops to slaughter political prisoners! I know that representative democracy is now the dominant form of government in this world, so I can understand why you may view the Empire with suspicion, but I can assure you that our government does _not_ abuse its power! Had you and Sir Heero been born into the Empire, I promise you that you would've found no reason to engage in rebellion!"

Quatre sighed. "I'm sorry if I touched a nerve, but have you ever considered that you might not know everything that the Empire does? I know that I have no right to criticize a culture that I lack meaningful knowledge of, but I can't imagine that it's a perfect society; no government is."

"I would never suggest that the Empire is perfect," Ayeka countered, "All nations, regardless of their structure, can make efforts towards improving both themselves and the livelihoods of their citizens. Jurai is no exception to this. However, I give you my word that the Empire treats its citizens very well, and it would never inflict such wanton abuse and harm upon its people. The first duty of the Royal Family is to protect the people of the Empire; we consider looking after our subject to be our highest obligation! To bring any sort of suffering to them would be a betrayal of all that we stand for!"

Quatre smiled. "I'm glad to hear you say that. It's clear that you, at the very least, take that responsibility very seriously. If the Empire were under your rule, then I think it would be a wonderful place to live."

Ayeka blushed and stammered; the way he'd suddenly softened his tone caught her completely off guard. "W-well, I… I would certainly do my best to make it so. However, I… I'm afraid I still have much to learn when it comes to the art of… well, administration."

"Perhaps," said Quatre, "but I've seen enough to know that your heart's in the right place. You'd make a great Empress, Ayeka."

Ayeka could only bow, humbled by his praise. "Thank you, Quatre."

She watched as he turned to look out at the city below, sighing wistfully. "I wonder… if the Earth Sphere had been within the Empire of Jurai's realm of influence… if we really could've known different lives. The war defined our youth more than anything else. It would've been nice to have something other than violence forge us into who we are today."

"You're still young, though," said Ayeka, "I mean, by your world's standards, you've only just come of age, right? Now that your world is at peace, there's plenty of time to live the rest of your life to the fullest. You, Sir Heero, and your fellow Gundam pilots; you've all earned the right to see what a peaceful world has to offer, and I for one wish nothing more than for all of you to enjoy all that it can give you."

Quatre nodded. "That's very kind of you. Thank you, Ayeka."

"You're most welcome, Quatre," she replied.

He then smiled and held out his arm. "Well, I think we've spent enough time on the sidelines for one night. The party's still young, after all; care to rejoin the festivities?"

Ayeka happily accepted his invitation. "Yes! Let us enjoy this holiday night for all that it is worth and then some!"

….

Kiyone leaned back and smiled as she set down her empty wine glass. "Ah… this is great. Why can't every night be like this?"

"I know, right?" chirped Mihoshi as she wolfed down yet another plate of food, "This party's awesome!"

 _How in the world she still has room for more food, I'll never know_ , Kiyone mused, _I swear, sometimes her stomach seems like a bottomless pit…_

As good as the food being served at the party was, Kiyone had called it quits after her second helping. She was perfectly content to spend the rest of the night sipping wine and relaxing as the festivities unfolded. When would she get another chance to enjoy herself like this, after all?

It was at that moment that Duo and Hilde returned from the dancefloor and joined them at their table. Kiyone had actually enjoyed their company earlier, although Duo was a bit too much of a party animal for her tastes. He could handle his liquor well, but she had to wonder just how much he intended to drink tonight; he was already pouring himself his third glass of wine.

"So," he said as he turned to Kiyone and Mihoshi, "what's a pair of space cops like you two doing way out in our neck of the woods?"

"Patrol duty," Mihoshi answered casually between bites of food.

"And search and rescue," quipped Kiyone as she gestured at her partner, "Searching for _her_ , to be more precise. I still can't believe that she crashed her ship in the middle of a lake just outside your capital."

"Kiyone, I told you that it wasn't my fault!" Mihoshi pouted, "It was the stupid auto-pilot that crashed the ship, not me!"

"The only reason the auto-pilot would've crashed your ship the way it did is if you didn't properly set it for a landing," Kiyone countered in exasperation, "Mihoshi, I land all the time on auto-pilot and never have any problems. I'm sorry, but this one's on you."

"At least you were able to walk away from it," said Hilde with a smile, "That's always a good thing!"

Mihoshi nodded. "Yup! All's well that ends well!"

"Except for the ship that you crashed," Kiyone deadpanned, "Those things aren't cheap, you know!"

Duo laughed. "I'll bet! I hope that doesn't come out of your pay!"

Kiyone sighed. "Luckily for the two of us, it doesn't, otherwise we'd be so deeply in debt that it'd take several lifetimes to pay off."

Duo whistled. "Yikes. Here I thought we had it rough with the junkyard."

Hilde rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Duo. The junkyard's doing fine, and you know it. We might hit a rough patch or two every now and then, but business always picks back up sooner or later. You just need to get better at helping me run the place!"

"Hey, I do just fine!" Duo shot back, "It's just a little slow for my tastes sometimes."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you working in a salvage yard if you're one of Heero's fellow Gundam pilots? Wouldn't your skillset be put to much better use by joining Preventers like he did?"

Duo shrugged. "Maybe, but to be honest it's not really the kind of gig I want. Nothing against Preventers or the two of you, but a life in law enforcement just isn't really my thing."

Hilde smirked. "That's putting it mildly. You'd probably find a way to get yourself arrested while on the job!"

Duo chuckled. "Knowing me, probably!"

"But it's so much fun!" chirped Mihoshi, "We get to chase down bad guys and help people!"

"When we're not crashing into other ships and pissing off our superiors," Kiyone grumbled.

Hilde winced. "Ouch. Sounds like you two have had a colorful career."

Kiyone sighed. "More than I'd like."

"Oh, come on, Kiyone!" said Mihoshi with a grin, "We've had some good times, too! Remember the fleet review a few years back? We were part of the celebration salute!"

Kiyone had to resist the urge to smack her head against the table. "We weren't part of it; we flew right into it because you messed up our course! I still can't believe we weren't shot to pieces when the cruisers fired!"

Mihoshi smiled sheepishly. "Well… it was still really pretty seeing it up close and all."

Kiyone couldn't help but chuckle as she recalled that particular accidental brush with death. "Yeah... I guess it was one hell of a lightshow."

Duo laughed. "Man, I bet you two would be a ton of fun to shadow on the job! Does the Galaxy Police have a ride-along program? I'd totally sign up if I got to be on your ship!"

Kiyone gave a rueful smirk. "Trust me; you'd regret that pretty quickly."

"I'm still surprised that there's an organization out there that patrols the galaxy fighting crime," said Hilde, "I mean, how are you supposed to cover all that… well, space?"

"We don't, actually," Kiyone replied, "We may be called the Galaxy Police, but truth be told, we don't have the manpower or ships to patrol every inhabited system out there. No one does. Not even the Empire of Jurai, and their fleet's _way_ bigger than ours."

"Still, you must have a pretty broad set of patrol routes to follow," said Duo, "I can't imagine they'd actually call you guys the Galaxy Police if you didn't have a presence in at least a considerable portion of the galaxy."

Kiyone nodded. "That's true. We're strongest within the Empire of Jurai and its client states, although we also have a decent presence out in many of the independent systems and star clusters. However, there's still a ton of territory out there where we maintain only a token presence, if any at all."

"I'm assuming our solar system is one of those areas, right?" asked Hilde.

"Yup!" chirped Mihoshi, "You're part of the Outland Sector, and we don't have a whole lot of patrols out here."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling us we're in the galactic equivalent of the sticks?"

Kiyone smiled. "Pretty much. No offense, but Earth is out in the middle of nowhere."

"Huh," he replied, "Guess it really is a big galaxy out there."

Hilde's eyes narrowed. "If this part of space is pretty much a dead-end, I'm going to assume that this isn't a spot that most officers want to be assigned to. Would that be about right?"

Kiyone sighed. "Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Nothing against you guys, of course."

A devious grin appeared on Duo's face. "You two got in trouble with your head honchos, didn't you? They've got you both out here because you drew some heat from the boss!"

"That's not right!" Mihoshi protested, "They need people out here to check for pirates and smugglers! We have an important job to do out here!"

Try as she might, Kiyone just couldn't bring herself to burst her partner's bubble. "It's true that the Outland Sector's pretty out of the way, but… well, the Galaxy Police still serve a purpose out here. Maintaining patrols for possible search and rescue missions is always a vital function, and it's how we eventually found Earth; Mihoshi detected the beacon from Ayeka's ship, and then after she crashed here I was eventually sent to investigate because her official Galaxy Police distress signal was detected."

Hilde and Duo nodded, although Kiyone could tell that they weren't completely buying it. Still, they didn't press the matter, which was good enough for her.

"Do you guys have a space police force?" asked Mihoshi, "I mean, I know you've got people like Heero, but he's down on Earth right now."

"She's right," said Kiyone, "Shouldn't there be a peacekeeping fleet up in orbit to protect your colonies?"

Duo nodded. "Preventers has some patrol ships up in orbit, but it'd be a bit of a stretch to call them a fleet. More like a few task forces, really."

"Aside from the occasional attempt at a hijacking, there's really not much criminal activity that takes place in space itself, at least not in the Earth Sphere," said Hilde, "I think most of Preventers' orbital resources are focused on keeping the peace inside the colonies and in the lunar habitats, although you'd have to ask Heero for the details."

Kiyone raised an eyebrow. "Not even a full fleet? Your world's pretty serious with this whole disarmament deal, isn't it?"

Duo shrugged. "Well, it beats the old days of us shooting the crap out of each other. Sure, it's not a perfect system, especially now that we know we're not alone in the universe, but it's still better than what we had under the old order."

Hilde nodded. "I can see why it'd be strange to someone in your occupation, but this new order is a big part of why there's peace in the Earth Sphere now. If a new arms buildup began, I think it'd only be a matter of time before someone decided to actually _use_ those weapons."

"But what if bad guys attack?" asked Mihoshi, "We've seen some powerful pirates before, and they could do a lot of damage out here. If any of them attacked, you'd all be in danger!"

It was rare for her partner to make a valid point in an argument, but Kiyone knew that Mihoshi had done just that here. "She's right. Don't get me wrong; I respect your world's commitment to doing what its government feels is necessary to stop a new war from breaking out. The disarmament policy is noble, but now that you know about the wider galactic community you must realize that it puts you all at risk. The Outland Sector may be a backwater, but it still gets criminal traffic; Ryoko's arrival here is proof enough of that. If she'd been hostile and decided to attack your world, she could've laid all the colonies and the planet itself to waste with Ryo-Ohki. Heero might be a capable peacekeeping officer, but there's no way that he could stop someone like her if they were serious about an assault!"

Duo sighed. "I won't argue with that. I imagine that Lady Une's trying to figure out what to do now that we've gotten a taste of what's out there. Of course, they won't tell the public about any of this, or at least not yet."

"Probably for the best," said Hilde, "Most people would freak if they knew the truth."

"Why do you need hide stuff like us from everyone?" asked Mihoshi, "Heero told me once that it was important for keeping the peace, but I still don't really get it."

Kiyone nodded. "I'm sure that the Preventers organization is worried about a possible panic, so I can understand some secrecy regarding any initial contact your world has with people from outside its star system. Still… is it really a good idea for them to keep our existence under wraps indefinitely?"

Duo shrugged as he took another sip of wine. "You're asking the wrong guy. I'm not in the peacekeeping business these days, remember?"

"Same here," said Hilde, "Besides, is that really something we should be worrying about right now? This is a party! Save the worrying for another time!"

"She's right," said Mihoshi with a smile as she stood up and pulled Kiyone to her feet, "Let's go, Kiyone!"

"Where are we going, exactly?" she asked nervously.

"To dance!" Mihoshi cheered.

After a brief internal debate, Kiyone decided not to fight her partner. She actually had a point; this was a holiday party, after all. Why not join in the festivities?

 _I wouldn't mind a different dancing partner_ , she mused, _but I just don't have it in me to shoot Mihoshi down. Might as well enjoy it. I think I've got enough wine in me for that at least…_

….

"Aw, you're such a good little girl!" cooed Sasami as Ryo-Ohki hopped onto her lap, "Here, have a carrot!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki before eagerly wolfing down the treat.

The living starship had joined Sasami after Ryoko had begun dancing with Heero, and Sasami was grateful for the company. She had been chatting with several of Quatre's sisters earlier, but they had gone off to mingle with other guests since then. Sasami didn't mind; it was nice to have a little break from small-talk so she could enjoy her food.

 _I'm so glad Heero's friend invited us all here_ , she thought, utterly enthralled at all the holiday decorations that had been set up throughout the garden, _It's so pretty, and everyone here's super nice!_

She had felt a little worried earlier when she had seen Heero dancing with Ryoko, though that was not out of jealously but more for concern for Ayeka's feelings. Her fears had subsided once she saw Quatre take Ayeka by the hand and out onto the dancefloor. They had disappeared for a little bit, but when they had returned Sasami was pleased to see that her older sister was smiling and enjoying herself.

"Mind if I join you for a little bit?" said a familiar female voice from behind her.

Sasami turned around and smiled when she saw Heero's superior officer. "Sally! Please, sit down with me! Isn't this party so much fun?"

"Indeed, it is," Sally replied as she took a seat next to Sasami, "Did you go to many parties like this back home, Sasami?"

Sasami thought carefully for a moment before replying. "Well… sort of."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I'm a princess, so of course I went to parties at the palace," said Sasami, "but, they weren't really like this. It's… I don't know how to really say it, Sally."

Sally gave her a knowing smile. "Maybe I can help you there. Were they not as warm and friendly as this one? Are those the words that you're looking for?"

Sasami's eyes widened. "Yeah! How did you know?"

"You and I may come from different worlds, but we both have a duty to attend certain official celebrations," said Sally, "Those are typically stiffer and more formal than a get-together like this. People can't really relax at those sorts of gatherings like they can here."

Sasami smiled. "You're right. People smiled at those parties, but… well, a lot of the time it didn't really feel like their smiles came from the heart. Here I can tell that they do. Everyone here trusts and cares about each other. They're all so happy to be together like this, and it makes me happy too!"

"Meow!" Ryo-Ohki cheered.

Sally nodded. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Still, I think you'd probably enjoy yourself more if you did something other than sit at the table and eat."

"What should I do, then?" asked Sasami.

Sally winked. "Dance with someone, silly!"

Sasami blushed. "Oh… well, I guess. The thing is… I don't think I'm a very good dancer."

Sally shook her head. "Nonsense. There's no such thing as a bad dancer, Sasami. As long as you put your heart into it, that's all that matters."

Sasami nodded and looked around the party. "Okay, but who should I dance with? I don't know many people here."

Sally stood up and gave her a confident smile. "Wait right here. I've got someone in mind."

She returned a few moments later with a young man that Sasami recognized as one of the friends Heero had introduced earlier. "Sasami, this is Trowa Barton. Trowa, you've already met Sasami, right?"

The young man nodded and gave her a small smile. "Briefly, yes. Would you like to dance, Sasami?"

Sasami smiled. "Yes, I'd love to!"

Her new friend nodded and led her out onto the dancefloor. As a new song started up, Trowa began to gently guide her through the steps. Sasami could already feel her worries fading away; it didn't matter if she wasn't confident in her dancing skills if her partner was leading her.

"Are you enjoying the party?" he asked.

Sasami nodded. "Yes! I'm so glad we were able to come! How about you?"

"I don't usually go to parties," he said, "but this is… nice."

Even though she had never met him before, something about Trowa felt familiar. It took Sasami a few moments figure out why that was.

"You're like Heero, aren't you?" she asked.

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You're quiet, but you're nice," she said with a smile, "Heero's like that, and I think you are too."

After a moment, Trowa nodded and returned her smile. "I guess I am."

"So where are you from?" she asked, "Do you live down on Earth?"

Trowa shook his head. "I go down there sometimes, but most of the time I actually live in the colonies. I'm part of a travelling circus group, you see."

Sasami's eyes widened. "The circus? What do you do there?"

"I'm an acrobatic performer," he replied, "I also stand very still why Catherine throws knives around me."

Sasami gasped. "But that's dangerous! She shouldn't do that! What if she hurts you?"

Trowa chuckled. "It's all right, really. Catherine's a _very_ good knife-thrower. It's all part of our act. She's probably the best in the Earth Sphere, actually."

"Still," said Sasami worriedly, "it's not safe."

Trowa shook his head. "You don't need to be concerned. I trust Catherine; she would never hurt me."

Sasami nodded. "Well, in that case, I guess it's okay."

Trowa smiled. "Do you have anything like a circus in the Empire?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sasami replied, "We have travelling performers who do all kinds of things! They juggle, walk on high wires, jump through fire, ride and do tricks with animals, have archery and sword-fighting contests, and they even throw knives just like your friend Catherine! I've only seen a few performances, though."

"Maybe you'll get to see my group perform sometime," said Trowa.

Sasami smiled. "That'd be fun! I'd really like to do that. I just don't know if Heero would let me."

"Why wouldn't he?" asked Trowa, "He's not too strict with you, is he?"

Sasami shook her head. "No, nothing like that. He just tries really hard to keep us all safe, and he's always worried about what might happen if we all travel somewhere in a group."

"You came here, didn't you?" Trowa pointed out, "I think he'd be willing to take you to one of our performances if the right arrangements were made."

"Maybe," said Sasami, "but I think we're going back to Earth after the party, and you perform in the colonies, so it might be a while until we get a chance to do that."

"Perhaps," said Trowa, "but don't forget what I told you; sometimes my group goes down to Earth to put on shows too. We might just swing by the region you're staying in sometime."

Sasami smiled again. "Could you let Heero know if you do that? I'd really like to see you and Catherine do your big act sometime!"

"I thought it scared you because it was dangerous," said Trowa with a small smirk.

Sasami shook her head. "It does, but if Catherine's good enough not to hurt you then I think I'd be able to watch it. I'd still be scared, but if Heero and Ayeka were sitting with me then I think I'd be okay."

Trowa nodded. "Well, then, in that case, the next time we're in the area, I'll give Heero a heads up, all right?"

Sasami grinned. "Sounds good to me!"

 _I hope I get to see him perform some time_ , she thought as their dance continued, _but even if I don't, that's okay. I'm having fun just dancing with him right now. I'm glad Heero has such nice friends!_

….

 _Quite the fascinating crowd_ , Washu mused as she observed the party from her table, _I suppose that's to be expected when they're friends of Heero._

A party such as this wasn't typically her idea of a good time, but she had to admit that she was enjoying herself. The food and drink were good, the music was nice, the scenery was lovely, and it was rather amusing observing the other attendees. She hadn't failed to notice in particular how Heero had enjoyed quite a few dances with Ryoko before finally allowing himself to take a new partner.

 _I'm sure he's tried to avoid picking favorites among us_ , she thought with a smirk as she watched him dance with Ayeka, _but he tipped his hand, whether he's realized it or not._

She didn't mind that he clearly favored Ryoko. In fact, she considered the possibilities from such a potential union quite intriguing. While both were already subjects of her observation, she resolved to keep an even closer eye on the two of them going forward. After all, who could say just what the future held for a pair of individuals as unique as them?

"Would you care for a little company?" said a female voice from behind her.

Washu looked over her shoulder and saw a blonde woman standing over her. "Dorothy, right?"

The woman nodded and smiled. "Indeed. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Doctor Washu… in an unofficial capacity, that is."

Washu chuckled. "That's right; you're with the ESUN Parliament, aren't you? You're not supposed to know about me officially, or so I hear."

Dorothy smirked as she sat down next to Washu. "Amusing, isn't it? My government would have me in the dark regarding your true nature, yet all it takes is an invitation from a friend to be pulled into one of the biggest secrets in the Earth Sphere. As they say, it's not about what you know, but _who_ you know."

"I've heard that before," Washu replied, "Although in my experience, _what_ you know carries more weight."

Dorothy studied her carefully for a moment. "When you introduced yourself earlier, you claimed to be the premier scientific genius in the galaxy. That's a rather bold claim to make."

Washu grinned. "Just because it's bold doesn't make it any less true."

"Perhaps," Dorothy replied, "Still, you must allow me a bit of skepticism. After all, I only have your word to go on regarding that claim."

Washu smirked. "You could always ask Ayeka or Kiyone. I'm sure that they'd be more than willing to enlighten you as to my reputation."

Dorothy nodded. "Perhaps I will when I get the chance. In the meantime, I hope you don't mind if I conduct an impromptu inquiry with you; I have other questions, after all."

Washu shrugged. "Sure. Just don't expect me to answer every one of them. I have to keep some trade secrets, after all."

"Then I'll keep it simple," said Dorothy, "What's your area of study?"

Washu grinned. "Everything."

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "I'm being serious here, you know. I would appreciate it if you would extend me the same courtesy."

"I am," Washu countered, "You name a field, and I can tell you more about it than the next hundred experts combined."

Dorothy folded her arms. "A healthy amount of pride in one's work is always commendable, but there is a line between that and unbridled arrogance."

Washu smiled. "Oh, really? I must never have bumped into it."

Dorothy sighed. "Perhaps I should shift gears. Would you be willing to lend your expertise to the Earth Sphere Unified Nation? As you might imagine, there are all manner of projects the government's conducting that could greatly benefit from the knowledge of someone from an advanced intergalactic civilization."

"I'm not for hire," said Washu, "That doesn't mean I can't be convinced to engage in a particular project, though. It just has to be one that I find sufficiently interesting. I'm afraid you might have your work cut out there; the bar's set pretty high."

"I see," said Dorothy, her eyes narrowing, "Have you conducted any special projects on behalf of Heero Yuy?"

"And what if I have?" Washu shot back, "Wouldn't that be Sally and Director Une's concern rather than yours? After all, they're the ones he answers to."

"They're his immediate superiors, yes," Dorothy conceded, "However, the Preventers organization does submit regular reports to the ESUN Parliament… along with budgetary requests."

Washu raised an eyebrow. "Funny… I was under the impression that everyone at this party was on good terms with Heero, but that almost sounds like a threat against the agency that he works for."

Dorothy shook her head. "I would not stoop to such levels; I wholeheartedly support the role that Preventers plays in keeping peace in the Earth Sphere. There are other members of Parliament who do not share my sentiments, though, and some of them hold senior positions on powerful committees. They could make life very difficult for Director Une and Heero should they learn about Preventers' efforts to conceal your existence from the world."

"And is there a chance that they could learn that secret from _you_?" asked Washu pointedly.

"No," Dorothy replied, "I fully intend to honor the confidence that I have been taken into by Sally and Quatre. I only wish to inform you of the trouble that other members of my government could cause if you or your companions do anything that results in the revelation of your existence to the public. Your full cooperation with Preventers would go a long way towards ensuring that your secret remains kept, and having an ally in Parliament certainly couldn't hurt you."

Washu smirked. "You can't be older than Heero, but you seem to have a pretty good grasp of politics. Security, governance, colony construction… your world seems to have little qualms about endowing young men and women with a considerable amount of power and responsibility."

Dorothy sighed. "My generation was forced to grow up quite quickly due to the war. If we are capable of handling duties that are normally reserved for our elders, it is because we have proven through fire and blood that we are worthy of them."

Washu nodded. "Fire and blood… an apt summation of Heero's service record, if nothing else."

Dorothy's eyes narrowed. "His service record… what did he tell you?"

"Not much, if anything," said Washu, "However, let's just say that you don't get to be as smart as me without learning to read between the lines."

From the manner in which Dorothy continued to study her, Washu was sure that the young woman suspected that more was at play here. She briefly debated whether or not to reveal that she had hacked Preventers' database during her time in the capital; it was tempting just to see what Dorothy's reaction to such a scandalous act might be. Washu decided to hold back on that bit of knowledge for the time being, though; as playful and mischievous as she could be, she really did want to avoid causing trouble for Heero after all the trouble he had gone through to play host to her.

"If he goes back out into the field," said Dorothy after a moment, "would you be willing to lend him technical support?"

"I might," Washu replied carefully, "I suppose it depends on what sort of 'technical support' he'd be needing."

"That would depend on his mission," said Dorothy, "Would you be willing to provide him with new equipment to field test? If your talents truly do extend to every field under the sun, then I'm sure that'd be a simple matter for you."

Washu smiled. "If I did, it wouldn't be for the ESUN or Preventers; it'd be to satisfy my curiosity… and for Heero. I suppose he's earned a favor or two from me. Besides, he's a _very_ interesting young man, and it's in _my_ interest to keep someone like him alive."

Dorothy chuckled. "You may find that you're not the only woman to have that sort of sentiment regarding your host. Heero… well, he tends to have that effect on women, although I do not believe that he is aware of it."

Washu smirked. "You don't say?"

"Indeed," said Dorothy as she stood up, "Enjoy the party, Doctor Washu. I suppose I'll see you around."

"Wait," said Washu, her eyes narrowing, "I've got a question, if you don't mind."

Dorothy nodded. "Very well, then. What is it?"

"It's about Heero," said Washu, "It's not a matter of _if_ he goes back out into the field, is it? I know he's your best operative, and the longer he's watching over us means the longer other threats have to operate without fear of him. He _will_ be returning to action, won't he?"

Dorothy sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. While Preventers has other operatives, only one it its ranks is as effective as Heero, and that man can't put out all the fires in the Earth Sphere. Heero will continue to watch over you and the others, but make no mistake; the time for his return to the field is coming, and soon."

"I see," said Washu grimly, "In that case… I might be able to give him a few tools to help improve his chances for survival."

"The Earth Sphere would owe you a debt of gratitude if you did so," said Dorothy, "The public will never hear of Heero's missions, but he is the knife in the dark that they need whether they realize it or not. Anything that you can do to increase his likelihood of survival in the field would be greatly appreciated. However, it would have to subtle and low-profile; we do not wish to betray any signs that Preventers is now being aided by someone from beyond the Earth Sphere."

Washu nodded. "I'll try to remember that."

….

From the sidelines, Sally looked on with a smile as the party continued apace. She regretted that Lady Une and Wufei were unable to attend, but on the whole it was a very successful celebration. Everyone had taken Heero's literally otherworldly companions in stride, and in fact they seemed to be the life of the party.

 _I'm glad Quatre and I were able to make all the appropriate arrangements with Heero to bring them here_ , she thought, _I know Lady Une had her doubts about this, but we really needed to get them out of that house for a little bit. From the look of things, I'd say that we made the right call._

Heero had once again changed partners and was now dancing with Sasami. Kiyone and Mihoshi had retreated after a few spirited dances back to their table and were now enjoying the company of Catherine and Rasheed. Meanwhile, Ayeka was taking a turn with Trowa on the dancefloor, while Ryoko had withdrawn to her table where she was partaking in yet another glass of wine and chatting with Duo and Hilde. Ryo-Ohki had joined them as well, and the adorable living starship was literally eating out of the palm of Hilde's hand. As for Washu, Sally had been surprised to see that she had gone out onto the dancefloor and was allowing herself to be led by Quatre through the latest song; the mad scientist hadn't struck Sally as the dancing type.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," said a familiar female voice, "This has all gone off without a hitch."

Sally smiled as Dorothy joined her at the table. "Well, the party's not quite over yet, so I'm wary of jinxing it… but yes, I'm quite satisfied with how it's all gone up to this point."

Dorothy nodded. "Indeed. Heero's built up quite the intriguing entourage over these past few months. A pirate, two princesses, two galactic cops, a scientist with a heavy ego, and a living starship all enjoying a Christmas party amongst the stars before going back to live in the countryside with the best operative Preventers has to offer… it boggles the mind, truly."

Sally laughed. "That's one way to put it! I still have trouble believing that we've been able to keep a secret of this magnitude for so long."

Dorothy smiled. "You've gone out on a limb here by allowing Heero to bring them all to this little get-together of ours… and even more so by bringing a fair number of people into this circle of trust. I would never presume to tell you how to do your job, but this whole arrangement does strike me as excessively risky."

Sally shook her head. "I don't think so. Heero's regular reports have indicated that the girls respect him and are willing to go along with him, so I thought we could afford to grant them a little excursion. Besides, events like this will help ensure that they form an overall positive impression of the Earth Sphere. Given Ayeka's position in particular, that could pay off for us in a big way down the road."

Dorothy nodded. "The crown princess of the Empire of Jurai looking on us favorably… yes, I can definitely see an advantage in that. We'd certainly be no match for such a nation in an armed conflict; even the old Alliance at the height of its power would not have been able to stand against an intergalactic superpower."

"Exactly," said Sally, "It's best that we get on their good side early."

"You won't hear me complaining about that," Dorothy replied, "If it ever comes to the point that we enter diplomatic talks with them, I trust that you and Director Une will be able to handle things. If you require assistance, please feel free to call upon me. I may not be Relena, but I can still handle myself in negotiations."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Sally.

Dorothy's eyes narrowed as she studied Heero's guests. "Do you think we can count on them to behave themselves while Heero's away?"

"You mean when we send him back to the field?" asked Sally, "I suppose there's only one way to find out."

Dorothy nodded. "I suppose so. I imagine Director Une would prefer to avoid taking that risk, but I'm afraid we no longer have the luxury of that. As you're well aware, the number of brushfire incidents has been picking up as of late. The monsters of our world seem to have realized that their greatest threat has been off the field for a while, and they're trying to take advantage of his absence. We need to refresh their memory; we need to show them once again why they should cower in dread at the mere mention of the codename Zero."

"I agree," said Sally grimly, "We'll put that fear back into them soon enough."

 _But at what cost?_ , she thought as she watched Heero continue his dance with Sasami, _Heero hasn't said as much openly, but I can tell that his time away from the field has done him a world of good. The release from the burden of having to take life in the name of peace and security has been healthier for him than anything else ever could. When we send him back out to kill under the banner of Preventers…_

 _…what will we be doing to his soul?_

….

 **December 25** **th** **, A.C. 198**

It was well past midnight by the time Heero and his companions finally made it back to the penthouse. They were all weary from the festivities, but at the same time Heero was pleased to see that all the girls had smiles on their faces. Almost everyone was still on their feet, but two required help; Kiyone was supporting Mihoshi, while Heero was carrying Ryoko piggy-back.

"Mmm, just one… _hiccup_ … one more," the pirate muttered into his ear, "I can take it…"

Heero shook his head, unable to suppress a small smirk. "Sorry, but you're cut off for the night."

"Meanie…" Ryoko mumbled.

Ayeka shook her head. "Honestly, I wish I could say that I was surprised. How typical of you, Ryoko. One of Sir Heero's closest friends hosts a party for us, and you go and get yourself so drunk that you can't even stand! Your behavior is utterly shameful!"

Ryoko chuckled. "Your… _hiccup_ … your _face_ is shameful…"

Ayeka was seething. "Why, you…"

"Enough," said Heero as he struggled to open the door to the penthouse while keeping Ryoko from falling off of his back, "Save the arguing for when you're both sober."

"Heero's right, Ayeka," said Sasami with a smile, "You had a few drinks tonight too, after all!"

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

Ayeka folded her arms, a hint of red in her face. "I may have indulged a little, but not nearly to the extent that Ryoko did. _I_ am capable of restraint!"

"Your… _hiccup_ … your face… _hiccup_ … has restraint…" Ryoko groaned, "Wait… _hiccup_ … I meant to say… _hiccup_ … something else…"

Washu shook her head. "If those are the best drunk insults you can manage, then I'm almost ashamed to call myself your mother."

"Now, now," said Kiyone with a smile, "Let's all lighten up a bit, all right? At least it was a fun party."

"Yup," chirped Mihoshi, a loopy smile on her face as she leaned on Kiyone to keep from keeling over, "Kiyone, let's dance again!"

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "Mihoshi, the party's over now. There's no more dancing to be had tonight."

"Lame," Mihoshi pouted.

Together they all stumbled into the penthouse, worn out and tipsy but content with how their night of revelry had gone. Heero was quite eager to call it a night, but first he had to make sure that the utterly smashed pirate on his back made it to bed and didn't end up falling asleep in the hallway.

"Mmm," she moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair and nuzzled against his head, "You're so comfy, Heero… _hiccup_... I'm sleeping right here tonight."

Heero couldn't help but chuckle as he took her into her room. "Sorry, but you'll feel better in your bed rather than on my back."

He gently lowered her onto the bed a moment later. After tucking her in he was about to leave the room when she suddenly grabbed him and pulled him down. Before Heero knew what was happening he found her kissing him full on the mouth. For a moment he froze, but then he gradually felt himself relax into it.

 _No_ , he silently told himself, _I can't... she's so drunk she doesn't know what she's doing…_

Their lips parted a second later, and he saw Ryoko smiling up at him. She might've been inebriated, but Heero swore he caught a flash of lucidity in her eyes for the briefest of moments.

"Don't go…" she said softly as she gazed longingly at him, "Stay… _hiccup_ … with me tonight…"

Heero's heart was suddenly pounding like a machine gun. There she was, lying in bed before him, and the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice were _heavily_ implying that she wanted more than just someone to snuggle with. It took every bit of restraint Heero could muster to pull himself back.

"Sorry," he said, "I can't… you're way too drunk, Ryoko. It wouldn't be right."

She reached out and caressed his cheek. "You're… _hiccup_ … you're wrong. I'm… _hiccup_ … I'm drunk, but… _hiccup_ … I know what I want. You… _hiccup_ … only you… I only want _you_."

Heero shook his head. "Maybe, but… not like this, Ryoko. If… if you do… want me like _that_ … it has to be _you_ that tells me… not the wine."

She sighed, but she was still smiling as she looked up at him. "All right. You… _hiccup_ … you're a good guy. Really… _hiccup_ … I mean that."

He leaned forward and kissed her just above the brow. "Thank you, Ryoko. Sleep well."

She giggled as she closed her eyes. "I'll… _hiccup_ … be dreaming… _hiccup_ … of you… Heero. G'night."

He stood over her for a moment, looking down longingly as sleep took her. He knew that he had made the right decision, but the temptation remained all the same. It wasn't even a desire for physical intimacy, although Heero would be lying if he said that wasn't part of it. Just the thought of simply holding her close as the two of them drifted off to sleep was a notion that he found very pleasing.

He sighed as he left the room and closed the door as quietly as he could. Would she remember any of this when she woke up with what was likely to be a severe hangover? Maybe it would be better if the booze stole that memory from her…

…or maybe Heero actually _did_ want her to remember.

For the life of him, he couldn't tell which was his true desire.

….

"Shit," Ryoko groaned as her eyes fluttered open and she grasped her head, "How much did I drink last night?"

She'd has worse hangovers, but she'd had better ones to, assuming there was such a thing as a 'better' hangover. At least she was relatively certain that the previous night's festivities were worth the current pain. The events of the party were currently fragmented in her mind, but from what she was able to piece together at the moment it seemed like it had been a pleasant evening.

 _I got to dance with him_ , she thought, smiling despite the fact that her head felt like it might split open at any second, _I got to dance with Heero before any of the others did… that alone makes this hangover totally worth it!_

She felt like she was missing something else, a memory that was just as important as the dancing, but for the life of her she couldn't summon it at the moment. All she could do was try to find it later on when her head didn't feel like someone was constantly hammering a gong right next to it. She was vaguely aware of voices coming from outside the bedroom. Ryoko didn't know how late it was, but she supposed that it was about time for her to get her ass out of bed. She could also vaguely recall Heero mentioning something last night about the morning of this particular day being special, but she couldn't remember the details.

When she opened the door, she almost knocked over Sasami in the process. The younger Juraian princess didn't seem to mind, though; she seemed as cheerful as ever.

"Ryoko!" she cheered, "You're finally awake!"

Ryoko winced; loud voices were _not_ going to do her any favors at the moment. "Keep it down, kid. My head's killing me enough as it is."

"Oh, sorry," Sasami replied, "Anyway, I was just coming to get you. Heero says we can't start until you join us."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "Start what?"

Sasami ginned. "Opening presents! Heero says that's what people do with the ones their close to on Christmas morning!"

"Oh, so _that's_ what he was talking about yesterday," she said, "I thought that there was something special going on today."

Sasami nodded. "Yup, that's it. Get yourself cleaned up and come join the rest of us, okay?"

Ryoko sighed as Sasami ran off. "She is _way_ too energetic sometimes. How can she be so bright and peppy this early in the morning?"

After a shower and change of clothes, she went out and saw Heero and the others waiting for her in the living room of the penthouse. There was a pile of wrapped gifts sitting on the table in front of the couch, and her companions were eying them rather eagerly.

Ayeka folded her arms. "Well, it's about time, you lazy tramp!"

"Hooray!" cheered Mihoshi, "You're finally here, Ryoko!"

Kiyone smirked. "How's the hangover treating you?"

"Bite me," Ryoko grumbled.

Washu waved her finger. "Now, now, Ryoko; you're supposed to be on your best behavior on a holiday morning like this. Especially since Heero went through so much trouble to set this all up for us."

"Indeed," said Azaka, "He went out shopping the very night we all arrived on this colony after the rest of you went to sleep in order to purchase and wrap these gifts."

"A truly selfless act," chimed in Kamidake.

"You're the best, Heero!" cheered Sasami.

"Meow!" cried Ryo-Ohki.

"How are you feeling?" asked Heero.

There was something about the way he was looking at her that made Ryoko pause. His concern was genuine, but he also seemed a little nervous.

 _Did I miss something?_ , she thought, _I mean, I know I had a lot to drink, but the way he's acting… I could just be imagining it. Still…_

An image flashed through her mind; another fragment of memory. She could see him leaning over her…

…with his lips less than an inch from hers.

"Ryoko?" Heero pressed.

She smiled as she sat down on the couch next to him. "I'll be fine. Just… try not to talk too loud today, okay? I don't think my head can take it."

Heero nodded, although there was still a hint of apprehension in his eyes. "All right."

"Shall we begin?" asked Azaka.

"I do believe we've waited long enough," said Kamidake.

"Why _did_ you wait for me?" asked Ryoko, "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, but I probably wouldn't have cared if you'd all opened your presents before I woke up."

Heero sighed. "Well… I suppose you could say that I wanted to do this the right way."

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"According to Sir Heero," Ayeka chimed in, "in keeping with this holiday, it is tradition for family and close friends who reside together to open their presents together."

Heero nodded. "To tell you the truth… I don't know if I've ever really done this before. I've got a few hazy memories from… well, from a long time ago, but if I ever spent Christmas morning with family then I don't remember it. So, in that sense, I suppose this would be the first time I've ever done this properly."

Kiyone smiled. "Well, I'm pretty sure that I'm speaking for all of us when I say that we're glad we've been given the chance to participate in this tradition with you."

"Merry Christmas, Heero!" Mihoshi cheered.

"Thank you so much for all that you've done for us!" said Sasami.

"Meow!" cheered Ryo-Ohki.

Washu nodded and smiled. "I'm not usually one for holidays and traditions, but I'm willing to make an exception for this one, and I'm pleased to be able to share it with you."

Ryoko gave Heero a pat on the shoulder. "Same here. You really are one hell of a good guy, Heero. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Heero nodded. "I'll try to remember that."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Sasami with a grin, "It's time to open presents, right?"

"Indeed," said Heero as he leaned forward, studying the tags, "Let me get these all passed out."

It took a few moments for Heero to sort through the gifts and make sure that each person got the one they were supposed to. Ryoko's smile widened when she saw that hers was in a bag rather than wrapped; she had a pretty good guess as to what was inside it.

"Well, there's no need for you to restrain yourselves on my account," said Heero, "Feel free to open them up."

Ryoko dug into the bag, and it only took her a moment to ruffle through the packaging paper before finding the prize inside. Despite her hangover, she was still pleased to see that it was a bottle of wine much like the one he had gotten her after he had returned from his trip to the capital with Ayeka and Washu all those months ago.

"Beautiful," she said with a grin, "You're the best, Heero! I can't wait to pop open this baby with you!"

Heero chuckled. "Why don't we give you a little more time to recover from your hangover before sampling it, all right?"

"Oh, fine," said Ryoko, still smiling as she studied the bottle, "but only because it's you, Heero."

"Oh, wow!" cried Mihoshi as she opened her gift up, "Heero, this is so cool!"

It was a large book with an artistic rendering of one of the many colossal space colonies that orbited Earth on the front cover. When Mihoshi flipped it open, Ryoko saw other such illustrations, along with actual photographs.

"I thought you might enjoy something like that," said Heero, "I'm sure you get to see our colonies whenever you and Kiyone go out on patrol, but I thought you'd like the pictures."

Mihoshi nodded. "It's a perfect souvenir from your world. I love it!"

Ryoko was a bit surprised that Heero had chosen such a gift for Mihoshi, but when she looked at Heero he seemed to be relieved that Mihoshi liked it. Maybe he knew something that Ryoko didn't; after all, he was a very observant individual. Now that Ryoko thought about, Mihoshi had seemed pretty excited when she'd seen the colony they were currently staying on through the shuttle window; maybe that had been the inspiration for such a gift.

Ayeka gasped as she held out her gift. "My goodness, Sir Heero… you shouldn't have! How much did this cost you?"

 _It can't have been cheap_ , thought Ryoko as she looked at it.

It was a scroll that contained a vibrant and beautiful oil painting of what appeared to a landscape overlooking the sea. A lovely sunset was depicted, along with a cliffside tree and the beach below. Ryoko didn't exactly have a keen eye for art unless it was something she was out to steal, but from the way the painter had captured the rays of the setting sun reflecting in the ocean waves she could tell that it was a very high-quality piece.

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I saw it and thought you might appreciate it, and that was enough for me."

Ayeka smiled. "In that case, I shall cherish this work of art for the rest of my days. It is simply lovely, Sir Heero, and I cannot thank you enough for it!"

"Oh, wow!" cried Sasami as she finished unwrapping her present, revealing a black and white cat plushie, "It's so cute, Heero! Thank you so much!"

Heero nodded. "Anytime, Sasami."

Next was Washu, who was holding a book that had a picture of a man with rather unruly hair on the front cover. "Interesting… Albert Einstein, eh? I read a little about him when I was familiarizing myself with your world. I don't usually go for biographies, but… well, this one looks intriguing. Thanks, Heero!"

"You're welcome," he replied.

"Well, well," said Kiyone with a smile as she brandished her present, "I wasn't expecting a little beauty like this…"

It was a pocket knife with an elegantly carved and engraved wooden handle. Kiyone was still fiddling with the attachments, but the slender curved blade in particular caught Ryoko's eye. She didn't bother with knives since she had her powers at her disposal, but she would admit that it was a pretty nice blade.

"I wasn't entirely sure what to get you," Heero admitted, "I thought you'd prefer something with practical applications."

Kiyone nodded as she fiddled with the various attachments on the knife. "Well, I can definitely see how some of these might come in handy. Thanks, Heero. This little baby's never leaving my side."

That was the moment that Ryo-Ohki chose to hop into Heero's lap. Ryoko couldn't help but smile as her furry companion looked up at the young man and began thumping her foot on his leg.

"Meow!" she cried, "Meow, meow!"

Ryoko chuckled. "Looks like someone feels a little left out! Heero, did you get anything for Ryo-Ohki?"

Heero nodded as he reached over and grabbed the last present from the table. "Of course. Why don't you unwrap it for her, Ryoko?"

Ryoko did so, and found a small box beneath the wrapping paper. Opening it up, she found two items inside; a red collar with a small golden bell attached, and a little stuffed mouse.

"Oh, that's so cute!" she said as she grabbed the collar, "Come here, girl!"

Ryo-Ohki hopped over from Heero's lap to hers, and Ryoko slipped the collar onto her. "What do you think? I say it makes you even cuter than you were before, Ryo-Ohki."

"Meow!" her adorable starship cheered.

Heero grabbed the stuffed mouse and put it on the table. "Why don't you have some fun with that?"

Ryo-Ohki jumped onto the table and began to paw at the little toy. Ryoko was surprised to see a small smirk appear on Heero's face; it was as if he knew something that Ryo-Ohki didn't.

"Heero?" said Ryoko as she looked back and forth between him and Ryo-Ohki, "Is there something about that mouse that I should know?"

"Give it a few minutes," he replied, "Trust me; it should be worth the wait."

With nothing better to do, Ryoko leaned back on the couch and watched as Ryo-Ohki began to bite and tug on the stuffed mouse. After a little while a small tear opened up, and Ryoko saw what appeared to be little green specs leak out.

Ryoko's eyes narrowed. "Heero… what's in that thing?"

"A little treat for Ryo-Ohki," he replied, "At least, it will be if it works on her."

That was when Ryo-Ohki started acting… _odd_.

Her eyes began to glaze over as she stretched out on the table. She buried her face in the little stuffed mouse, rubbing against it and holding it close like it was the most precious thing in the world. When she looked at Ryoko, there was a look of utter bliss on her face.

"Meow…" she happily murmured, "Meow… _meow!_ "

Ryoko could not resist bursting out in laughter when she realized what was happening. "Holy crap… she is high as a kite!"

Next to her, Heero chuckled. "So catnip _does_ work on Ryo-Ohki… I'll have to remember that."

Ayeka shook her head. "I expect this from the likes of Ryoko, but _you_ , Sir Heero? Oh, dear…"

Sasami leaned forward. "Is she okay?"

Kiyone put her hand on Sasami's shoulder and smiled. "She's fine, Sasami. Ryo-Ohki's just… well, I think she's in a really good place right now."

"Aw, look at her!" Mihoshi cooed, "She looks so happy!"

"That's one way to put, I suppose," said Washu with a smirk, "I honestly had no idea a substance like that would work on her, and _I_ was the one that created her… well played, Heero."

"I'm not sure how to take this," said Kamidake, "Azaka, should we be condoning drug use in front of Princess Sasami?"

"I think it best if we simply do not get involved in the matter," Azaka replied.

Ryoko kept laughing as Ryo-Ohki began rolling around in the catnip that had spilled on the table. "I hope we've got some carrots around here, because she is going to have a major case of the munchies later!"

"Meow…" muttered Ryo-Ohki blissfully.

"I'm sure there's something that we can feed her," said Heero, "Although I'm not sure just how hungry she's going to be after this."

"I'll monitor her to see how this plays out," said Washu, "It'll be a little impromptu experiment, I suppose."

Ayeka shook her head. "You _would_ be the one tofind a way to turn this into some bizarre science experiment…"

"Just take good care of her, okay?" said Sasami.

Washu nodded. "Of course."

Kiyone giggled as Ryo-Ohki rolled around on the table, lost in her own little world. "She looks like she's having a ball."

"Aw, who's a high little living spaceship?" cooed Mihoshi as she rubbed Ryo-Ohki's belly, "You are, yes, _you are!_ "

It was then that Ryoko realized something was wrong. "Hey, wait a second… Heero, where's _your_ present?"

Ayeka gasped. "Oh, my goodness… none of us got you anything!"

"Oh, no!" cried Sasami, "Heero, I'm so sorry!"

Heero shook his head and smiled. "It's all right, really. None of you even knew about this little tradition until we came to this colony. Besides, I did this for you, not myself. Being able to simply enjoy the holiday like this with all of you is more than enough for me."

"We still need to do something for you," Kiyone protested.

"She's right!" chirped Mihoshi.

"I _do_ feel a little bad about you being the only one left out of the whole gift-giving thing," said Washu.

"What about us?" asked Kamidake, "No one got gifts for us!"

"The honor that comes with our service as Princess Ayeka's bodyguard is the only gift we shall ever require," Azaka replied, "Besides, I'm pretty sure none of them are paying attention to us right now."

Sasami smiled. "Oh, I know! I'll make breakfast! Heero, you get to just sit back and relax!"

"I'll help," said Kiyone, "It's the least I can do."

Ayeka nodded. "Same here."

"What about me?" asked Mihoshi.

"Miss Mihoshi, it may be best if you refrain from lending assistance," Ayeka replied, "Please, do not take this the wrong way, but… well, I for one would be utterly mortified if this penthouse caught fire, to put it bluntly."

"Sorry, Mihoshi, but she's got a point," said Kiyone, "Don't worry about it; we got this. Just enjoy your book for now!"

"I suppose the least I could do is make us some coffee," said Washu, "I'll be right back."

While Ayeka, Kiyone, Sasami, and Washu left the living room, Heero and the others remained. Azaka and Kamidake receded into the background while Mihoshi buried herself in her picture book, leaving Ryoko and Heero to watch as Ryo-Ohki continued to enjoy her unexpected high.

"Hey," said Ryoko as she put her arm over Heero's shoulders, "you need anything? I mean, I'm not much of a cook or anything like that, but… well, I'd feel pretty bad if I didn't do _something_ for you today after all the effort you put into this."

She was surprised when he felt Heero put his arm around her waist and pull her closer. There was a very small and content smile on his face, one that sent Ryoko's heart racing.

"Just stay here for a while," he said softly, "and we'll call it even."

Ryoko smiled in return. "Really? It feels like I might be getting the better end of the deal there."

Heero chuckled. "Trust me. This is all I need."

She felt the heat rush to her face when her gaze met his. There was something in his eyes that took Ryoko completely off guard.

 _Longing._

And that was when another fragment of memory from the night before flashed through her mind.

How she had grabbed him after he had tucked her into bed, pulled him down, and kissed him full on the lips.

 _Wow_ , she thought, struggling to process the image while still meeting Heero's gaze, _I… that really happened… it wasn't just a dream… right?_

With all the wine she had consumed the night before, it was difficult to say for sure…

…but the look in Heero's eyes strongly supported it.

The next flash certainly didn't hurt things, either.

 _"Sorry," he said, "I can't… you're way too drunk, Ryoko. It wouldn't be right."_

 _She reached out and caressed his cheek. "You're… hiccup… you're wrong. I'm… hiccup… I'm drunk, but… hiccup… I know what I want. You… hiccup… only you… I only want you."_

 _Heero shook his head. "Maybe, but… not like this, Ryoko. If… if you do… want me like that… it has to be you that tells me… not the wine."_

 _She sighed, but she was still smiling as she looked up at him. "All right. You… hiccup… you're a good guy. Really… hiccup… I mean that."_

 _He leaned forward and kissed her just above the brow. "Thank you, Ryoko. Sleep well."_

 _She giggled as she closed her eyes. "I'll… hiccup… be dreaming… hiccup… of you… Heero. G'night."_

"Heero…" she said softly, her eyes widening, "Last night…"

"It's all right," he replied, giving her a knowing nod, "You were _very_ drunk, Ryoko. You don't need to worry. Nothing happened that either of us would regret."

She furtively looked around to make sure the others weren't watching them before leaning in to whisper in his ear. "What you said… about it being _me_ that tells you, not the wine… did you _mean_ that?"

His reply was just a single word…

… one that she'd been dreaming of since the moment they'd met.

"Yes."

 **Preview for next time!**

 _Ayeka: Ah, it's so good to be back!_

 _Azaka: And in one piece, I might add_

 _Kamidake: Wonders never cease!_

 _Sasami: That sure was a fun party!_

 _Mihoshi: Hopefully we can go to another one soon!_

 _Kiyone: I think parties might be off the menu for a little while._

 _Ryoko: Aw, that bites!_

 _Ryo-Ohki: Meow!_

 _Washu: There might not be any more parties in store, but that doesn't mean things will be dull. At least, not for a certain someone…_

 _Sally: She's right, Heero; it's time._

 _Heero: Time for what?_

 _Sally: I'm afraid your little vacation is over. Those who would disturb the peace are growing bolder, and they've forgotten the price that must be paid for threatening our world._

 _Heero: I see… very well, then. Mission accepted._

 _Kiyone: Next time, in Chapter Thirteen: No Need For A Knife In The Shadows!_

 _Ryoko: Am I the only one who's sensing a tone shift here?_

 _Heero: Time to return to the battlefield…_

 **Author's Notes:** Ah, it feels wonderful to finally post a new chapter! My sincerest apologies for the wait, and I can only hope that the resulting chapter is worth it for all of you. As you can probably tell from the preview, the story's shifting gears moving forward here. What I like to call the 'Idle Adventures and Fun Times Arc' has come to a close. Now Heero gets to go back into the field and demonstrate his skills as a government-sanctioned assassin… and there are plenty of targets for him to go after!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!


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